U.S. single-family home prices continued their upward trajectory in March, marking the 146th consecutive month of annualized gains, CoreLogic reported. Prices rose by 1.2% compared to February 2024 and by 5.3% compared to March 2023, according to the company’s home price index released Tuesday.
Over the next 12 months, CoreLogic projects year-over-year home price gains to range between 3.7% and 5.6%.
“Home prices increased again this March beyond the typical seasonal uptick, despite mortgage rates reaching this year’s high and the affordability crunch continuing to keep many prospective buyers on the sidelines,” Selma Hepp, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a statement.
“Even with the long-anticipated break in for-sale inventory, the surging cost of homeownership, further fueled by rising insurance and tax expenses, is holding potential home sales back, as is evident in the slow rise in sales compared with last year. These price pressures reflect the overall supply-and-demand mismatch, as well as continued interest from households with larger budgets.”
Northeastern states continued to post the nation’s largest gains. Four of the top-five states for annualized appreciation in March were located in the Northeast: New Jersey, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Rhode Island. CoreLogic noted that inventory growth in these states continues to lag behind others, such as Florida and Texas, which is putting upward pressure on home prices.
At the metro level, Miami posted the highest year-over-year home price increase in March (10.6%) among the 100 metros tracked by CoreLogic. San Diego saw the next highest gain at 9.4%.
New Jersey ranked No. 1 among all states for highest yearly appreciation in March (up 12.2%), followed by South Dakota (11.5%) and New Hampshire (10.6%). No states recorded year-over-year home price decreases.
The metro areas of Palm Bay, Florida; Atlanta; and Spokane, Washington were deemed the most at risk of home price declines in the coming year.
