US home prices swung higher in December 2023, with the national index reaching a one-year high in annual gains.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine US census divisions, increased 5.5% year over year in December 2023, up from a 5% annual gain in the previous month. The yearly increase was the highest since the 5.7% year-over-year change recorded in December 2022.
"US home prices faced significant headwinds in the fourth quarter of 2023," Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a Feb. 27 release. "Looking back at the year, 2023 appears to have exceeded average annual home price gains over the past 35 years."
Year over year, the 10-City Composite index grew 7% in December 2023, up from a 6.3% annual gain in the previous month. The year-over-year increase in the 20-City Composite index was up to 6.1% from 5.4% in November 2023.
Among the 20 cities in the index, San Diego posted the highest year-over-year increase with an 8.8% gain in December, followed by Los Angeles and Detroit, each rising 8.3%.
The US National, 20-City Composite and 10-City Composite indexes all posted month-over-month price gains of 0.2%, after seasonal adjustment.
Mortgage rates climb in February
US mortgage rates rose through February after a brief decline in the previous months.
The interest rate on a 30-year fixed conforming mortgage averaged 6.94% as of Feb. 26, up from 6.82% on Jan. 26 and 6.38% in the year-ago period.
The average US 15-year fixed conforming mortgage rate was 6.41% as of Feb. 26, up from 6.23% on Jan. 26 and 5.73% about a year ago.
Existing and new home sales rise
Existing home sales increased sequentially but fell on a yearly basis in January, according to data from the National Association of Realtors.
Existing home sales increased month over month by 3.1% in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4 million units. Sales declined 1.7% from the previous year.
The West was the only US region to record both monthly and yearly increases in existing home sales. Existing home sales in the West increased 4.3% month over month and 2.8% year over year in January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 730,000 units.
"While home sales remain sizably lower than a couple of years ago, January's monthly gain is the start of more supply and demand," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors, said in a Feb. 22 release.
New home sales in the US rose 1.5% above the revised December 2023 rate of 651,000 units to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 661,000 units in January, according to data from the US Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The annual increase in new home sales was 1.8%.
The Northeast posted the largest month-over-month increase in new home sales, up 72% to 43,000 units. The West logged a 57% yearly increase in new home sales.
Top mortgage lender
Pontiac, Mich.-based UWM Holdings Corp. maintained its position as the top US residential mortgage lender, with $72.06 billion in mortgages through November 2023.
Total residential mortgages originated from the start of the year through November 2023 stood at $1.837 trillion, down 37.3% year over year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
