Home prices began to cool in November after nine straight months of gains, S&P Case-Shiller says

Home prices in November fell 0.2% from October, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index.

While that may not seem like a lot, it is the first monthly drop since January 2023. Mortgage rates rose sharply in October to their highest level in over 20 years, making houses hard to afford.

Seattle and San Francisco reported the largest monthly price declines, falling 1.4% and 1.3%, respectively. Meanwhile, six cities registered a new all-time high in November. Those were Miami, Tampa, Atlanta, Charlotte, New York, and Cleveland.

Prices nationally were still higher than the year before, and those annual gains increased again relative to the prior month. They rose 5.1% from November 2022, up from a 4.7% annual increase in October. The 10-city composite rose 6.2%, up from a 5.7% increase in October. The 20-city composite rose 5.4%, up from a 4.9% increase in the previous month.

“The house price decline came at a time where mortgage rates peaked, with the average Freddie Mac 30-year fixed rate mortgage nearing 8%, according to Federal Reserve data,” said Brian Luke, head of commodities, real & digital assets at S&P DJI. “The rate has since fallen over 1%, which could support further annual gains in home prices.”

For the second straight month, Detroit reported the highest year-over-year gain among the 20 cities. Prices rose 8.2% in November, followed again by San Diego with an 8% increase.

Portland, Oregon was the only city showing prices lower from the prior year, down 0.7%, compared with November 2022.

Regionally, the November report showed the narrowest price performance spread across the country since the first part of 2021.

“The tight disparity speaks to a rising tide across the country, with less evidence of micro-markets bucking the trend. The days of markets in the South rising double digits with markets in the Midwest remaining flat are over,” added Luke.