4-Year Low for Home Price Growth

From November to December 2018, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index grew 2 basis points, and increased 4.2 percent annually, marking the slowest annual pace since November 2014.

Despite the slowdown, home prices are growing faster than wages. Home price growth has typically been stronger in the West, but in December, Atlanta made the top three metros with the strongest value growth for the first time. Meanwhile, Seattle and San Francisco have had less robust price growth annually, and declines for the month, MarketWatch reports. Of the 20 metros measured, only five metros had price growth for the month.

Home price growth is screeching to a halt, and yet prices are still increasing much faster than wages. Price growth as measured by the broader national Case-Shiller index for the three months ending in December was 4.7 percent. The gain in the popular 20-city index missed the Econoday forecast of a 4.8 percent increase. The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note, which most mortgages track, has been significantly lower in 2019, thanks to concerns about slowing global growth and trade tensions. That’s helped boost consumer interest in applying for mortgages, but whether there will be any properties that they want to buy once they’re approved is another story.

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