Home Prices Set Another Record with 16.6% Surge

Home prices increased 16.6% year-over-year in May—the highest reading in over 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data, beating out April 2021’s record-setting 14.8% growth.

The 10-City Composite annual increase was 16.4%, and the 20-City Composite increase was 17.0%. Prices in 18 of the 20 cities were at all-time highs.

“We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by reaction to the COVID pandemic, as potential buyers move from urban apartments to suburban homes. May’s data continue to be consistent with this hypothesis,” stated S&P spokesperson Craig Lazzara. “This demand surge may simply represent an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred anyway over the next several years.”

The highest year-over-year gains were reported in Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle, which reported increases of 25.9%, 24.7% and 23.4%, respectively.

The full report can be found here.