After 4 straight months of decelerating US home price gains in the largest 20 cities, prices re-accelerated in December (the latest data from S&P CoreLogic), and are up a shocking 18.56% YoY (surprisingly higher than the 18.35% YoY in Nov and much higher than the 18.00% expected)...
The National home price index rose 18.84% YoY, up from 18.69% YoY in November. Both still very close to record high levels of inflation.
Source: Bloomberg
Phoenix, Tampa, Miami reported highest year-over-year gains among 20 cities surveyed.
"We have noted that for the past several months, home prices have been rising at a very high, but decelerating rate," Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in statement.
"The deceleration paused in December, as year-over-year changes in all three composite indices were slightly ahead of their November levels. December’s 18.8% gain for the National Composite is the fifth-highest reading in history."
But, we note that this is before mortgage rates really started to take off in January (was this accelerated buying ahead of the rate moves?)...
...which suggests prices are set to slow their gains faster (which fits with the slumps in homebuyer and bomebuilder sentiment). And don't expect The Fed to save this one......