US home prices continued to trend higher in February, even as mortgage rates rose.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine US census divisions, rose 6.4% year over year in February, up from a 6.0% year-over-year increase in January.
On an annual basis, the 10-City Composite rose 8.0% in February, up from a 7.4% increase the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a yearly increase of 7.3%, up from a 6.6% annual gain the previous month.
"Since the previous peak in prices in 2022, this marks the second time home prices have pushed higher in the face of economic uncertainty," said Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in an April 30 release.
San Diego continued to report the highest year-over-year gain among the 20 cities, increasing 11.4% in February, followed by Chicago and Detroit with increases of 8.9%.
The US National Index rose 0.4% month over month after seasonal adjustment. The 20-City Composite and 10-City Composite indexes posted month-over-month price gains of 0.6% each.
Mortgage rates climb higher
US mortgage rates rose through April after a brief decline in March.
The interest rate on a 30-year fixed conforming mortgage rate rose 17 basis points from 6.91% on March 29 to 7.08% on April 29.
The average US 15-year fixed-conforming mortgage rate increased 16 basis points from 6.38% on March 29 to 6.54% on April 29.
Existing home sales fall, new home sales pick up
Existing home sales declined on a sequential and yearly basis in March, according to data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Existing home sales fell 4.3% month over month and 3.7% year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.19 million units.
"Though rebounding from cyclical lows, home sales are stuck because interest rates have not made any major moves," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the NAR, said in an April 18 release. "There are nearly six million more jobs now compared to pre-COVID highs, which suggests more aspiring home buyers exist in the market."
In the West, existing home sales declined 8.2% from a month ago to an annual rate of 780,000 units in March, the biggest sequential drop among the four regions. The Northeast was the only region to post a monthly rise in existing home sales.
Existing home sales in the Northeast climbed 4.2% month over month to an annual rate of 500,000 units in March.
All four US regions posted year-over-year declines in existing home sales, with the South recording the biggest fall.
New home sales rose 8.8% month over month and 8.3% year over year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 693,000 units from the revised February rate of 637,000 units, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
All four US regions recorded a month-over-month rise in new home sales, with the Northeast registering the highest increase at 27.8%. The Northeast was also the only region to register a year-over-year decline in new home sales.
Top mortgage lender
Pontiac, Mich.-based UWM Holdings Corp. was the top US residential mortgage lender with $77.93 billion in mortgages for full year 2023, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
