US home prices jump 5.2% in August

Biggest increases in Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego

U.S. home prices rose with Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego logging the biggest gains (iStock)
U.S. home prices rose with Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego logging the biggest gains (iStock)

More good news for the U.S. housing market: Home prices continue to climb.

Prices increased 5.2 percent year-over-year in August, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, which tracks the housing market in 20 cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Miami and Chicago.

Detroit is typically included in the index, but pandemic-related delays recording sales have temporarily excluded it.

Read more

The index’s August growth beat July’s annual gain of 4.1 percent.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The biggest increases in price were in Phoenix, Seattle and San Diego. Phoenix saw August prices soar 9.9 percent year-over-year, Seattle logged an 8.5 percent gain and San Diego 7.6 percent.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index, which tracks prices across the country, increased 5.7 percent year-over-year, up from 4.8 percent in July. The monthly indices have been tracking the U.S. housing market for 27 years.

The report comes as the number of homes on the market has dropped well below customary levels. With low inventory and strong homebuyer demand, prices have been setting records since July.

Existing home sales continued to surge through September as the median sale price jumped to $311,800, up 15 percent from a year earlier.

Though confidence among homebuilders has reached a new high and housing starts continue to increase, the number of sales of homes in construction or recently finished slid 3.5 percent last month, while prices increased 4.5 percent to a median of $326,800.