U.S. home prices continued their upward trend in August, setting a record for the fourth consecutive month. Compared to July, prices rose by 0.68% on a seasonally adjusted basis, with over half of the nation's 50 largest markets experiencing increases of 0.75% or more, Insider reports.
Nationally, prices are now 2.5% above the peak reached in 2022. Despite some cooling signs in the housing market, with a 9.2% increase in home listings with price cuts, competition and high mortgage rates have kept prices elevated. Still, increased inventory and more motivated sellers could provide an opportunity for determined buyers to become homeowners this fall.
"After essentially flattening earlier this year, year-over-year home price growth has been reaccelerating for the last few months," said ICE vice president of enterprise research, Andy Walden. "Even on a non-adjusted basis, August's gain of +0.24% was more than 60% larger than the 25-year average for the month. Either way you look at it, the increase was sufficient to push annual appreciation up to a stronger-than-expected +3.8%."