US home prices rise 1.9pc in July as regional divide widens

(Sharecast News) - US home price growth picked up in July, with the S&P Cotality Case‑Shiller national home price index rising 1.9% year‑on‑year, up from 1.6% in June, although values continued to fall in real terms for a 14th straight month as inflation ran at 3.4%. The release highlighted a sharp regional split, with an almost nine‑point gap between the strongest market, Chicago, up 6.9%, and the weakest, Seattle, down 1.6%. New York and Cleveland followed with gains of 5.8% and 4.2%, respectively. S&P DJI also noted ongoing data delays in Detroit, meaning no valid July update was available.

Rebecca Kaufman, associate director at S&P DJI, said slightly lower inflation and firmer nominal price growth had narrowed the real‑terms decline, while the long‑running East‑West divide persisted, with most Eastern metropolitan areas seeing stronger annual momentum than Western counterparts.

On a non‑seasonally adjusted basis, the national index rose just 0.12%, and the 10‑City Composite 0.03%, while the 20‑City Composite dipped 0.01%. Seasonally adjusted figures were firmer, with gains of 0.3% for the national index and 0.4% for the 10‑City Composite.

Kaufman added that elevated inflation was driven largely by energy, with gasoline prices up 24.6%, while core inflation rose a more moderate 2.5%, a distinction she said mattered for housing affordability.







Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com