NEW YORK– Newly released data for April 2021 home price increases setting a new record.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 14.6% annual gain in April, up from 13.3% in the previous month.
The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 14.4%, up from 12.9% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 14.9% year-over-year gain, up from 13.4% in the previous month, according to the company’s analysis.
Showing the highest year-over-year gains among 20 cities in April, Phoenix led the way with a 22.3% year-over-year price increase, followed by San Diego with a 21.6% increase and Seattle with a 20.2% increase. All 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending April 2021 versus the year ending March 2021.
It is the 23rd straight month Phoenix has led in gains shown.
Month Over Month
Before seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a 2.1% month-over-month increase, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.9% and 2.1% respectively in April, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index found.
After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National Index posted a month-over-month increase of 1.6%, and the 10-City and 20-City Composites both posted increases of 1.4% and 1.6% respectively. In April, all 20 cities reported increases before and after seasonal adjustments, the company said.
11 Consecutive Months
"Housing prices accelerated their surge in April 2021," says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI. "The National Composite Index marked its 11th consecutive month of accelerating prices with a 14.6% gain from year-ago levels, up from 13.3% in March. This acceleration is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 14.4% and 14.9%, respectively). The market's strength is broadly-based: all 20 cities rose, and all 20 gained more in the 12 months ended in April than they had gained in the 12 months ended in March.
"April's performance was truly extraordinary. The 14.6% gain in the National Composite is literally the highest reading in more than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data,” continued Lazzara. “Housing prices in all 20 cities rose; price gains in all 20 cities accelerated; price gains in all 20 cities were in the top quartile of historical performance. In 15 cities, price gains were in top decile. Five cities – Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, and Seattle – joined the National Composite in recording their all-time highest 12-month gains.”
Lazzara noted analysts have previously suggested 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, and he said April's data continue to be consistent with this hypothesis. The demand surge, he said, may simply represent an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, Lazzara also said there may have been a secular change in locational preferences, leading to a permanent shift in the demand curve for housing.
Additional Data
S&P CoreLogic said the data in the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index below shows the housing boom/bust peaks and troughs for the three composites along with the current levels and percentage changes from the peaks and troughs.
| 2006 Peak | 2012 Trough | Current | ||||||
|
Index |
Level |
Date |
Level |
Date |
From Peak (%) |
Level |
From Trough (%) | From Peak (%) |
| National | 184.61 | Jul-06 | 134.00 | Feb-12 | -27.4% | 249.04 | 85.9% | 34.9% |
| 20-City | 206.52 | Jul-06 | 134.07 | Mar-12 | -35.1% | 257.10 | 91.8% | 24.5% |
| 10-City | 226.29 | Jun-06 | 146.45 | Mar-12 | -35.3% | 270.21 | 84.5% | 19.4% |
Table 2 below summarizes the results for April 2021. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices could be revised for the prior 24 months, based on the receipt of additional source data.
| April 2021 | April/March | March/February | 1-Year | |||||
| Metropolitan Area | Level | Change (%) | Change (%) | Change (%) | ||||
| Atlanta | 177.59 | 1.7% | 1.8% | 12.3% | ||||
| Boston | 267.60 | 2.5% | 2.6% | 16.2% | ||||
| Charlotte | 196.89 | 2.4% | 2.6% | 15.0% | ||||
| Chicago | 160.29 | 1.9% | 1.7% | 9.9% | ||||
| Cleveland | 147.79 | 1.9% | 1.6% | 13.3% | ||||
| Dallas | 226.77 | 2.9% | 2.8% | 15.9% | ||||
| Denver | 265.83 | 2.7% | 3.3% | 15.4% | ||||
| Detroit | 147.70 | 2.2% | 1.3% | 13.3% | ||||
| Las Vegas | 225.33 | 2.5% | 2.3% | 12.5% | ||||
| Los Angeles | 339.18 | 1.8% | 2.4% | 14.7% | ||||
| Miami | 287.84 | 2.4% | 1.9% | 14.2% | ||||
| Minneapolis | 206.33 | 2.2% | 1.8% | 11.3% | ||||
| New York | 232.01 | 0.8% | 0.8% | 13.5% | ||||
| Phoenix | 252.55 | 3.3% | 3.4% | 22.3% | ||||
| Portland | 283.79 | 2.1% | 2.6% | 15.4% | ||||
| San Diego | 331.47 | 3.2% | 3.4% | 21.6% | ||||
| San Francisco | 317.81 | 3.1% | 3.3% | 15.1% | ||||
| Seattle | 324.88 | 3.1% | 4.7% | 20.2% | ||||
| Tampa | 266.20 | 2.3% | 1.9% | 15.4% | ||||
| Washington | 273.10 | 2.3% | 2.1% | 13.6% | ||||
| Composite-10 | 270.21 | 1.9% | 2.0% | 14.4% | ||||
| Composite-20 | 257.10 | 2.1% | 2.2% | 14.9% | ||||
| U.S. National | 249.04 | 2.1% | 2.0% | 14.6% | ||||
| Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic | ||||||||
| Data through April 2021 | ||||||||
Additional Findings
Meanwhile, the company said the table below shows a summary of the monthly changes using the seasonally adjusted (SA) and non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) data. Since its launch in early 2006, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices have published, and the markets have followed and reported on, the non-seasonally adjusted data set used in the headline indices. For analytical purposes, S&P Dow Jones Indices publishes a seasonally adjusted data set covered in the headline indices, as well as for the 17 of 20 markets with tiered price indices and the five condo markets that are tracked, the company said.
| April/March Change (%) | March/February Change (%) | |||||||
| Metropolitan Area | NSA | SA | NSA | SA | ||||
| Atlanta | 1.7% | 1.2% | 1.8% | 1.2% | ||||
| Boston | 2.5% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 1.4% | ||||
| Charlotte | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.6% | 2.0% | ||||
| Chicago | 1.9% | 1.0% | 1.7% | 0.9% | ||||
| Cleveland | 1.9% | 1.3% | 1.6% | 1.1% | ||||
| Dallas | 2.9% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 1.9% | ||||
| Denver | 2.7% | 2.1% | 3.3% | 1.9% | ||||
| Detroit | 2.2% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 1.1% | ||||
| Las Vegas | 2.5% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 1.9% | ||||
| Los Angeles | 1.8% | 1.4% | 2.4% | 1.7% | ||||
| Miami | 2.4% | 2.2% | 1.9% | 1.5% | ||||
| Minneapolis | 2.2% | 1.5% | 1.8% | 0.9% | ||||
| New York | 0.8% | 0.9% | 0.8% | 0.9% | ||||
| Phoenix | 3.3% | 2.9% | 3.4% | 3.2% | ||||
| Portland | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 2.1% | ||||
| San Diego | 3.2% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 2.5% | ||||
| San Francisco | 3.1% | 2.1% | 3.3% | 1.7% | ||||
| Seattle | 3.1% | 1.5% | 4.7% | 3.1% | ||||
| Tampa | 2.3% | 2.1% | 1.9% | 1.6% | ||||
| Washington | 2.3% | 1.5% | 2.1% | 1.4% | ||||
| Composite-10 | 1.9% | 1.4% | 2.0% | 1.5% | ||||
| Composite-20 | 2.1% | 1.6% | 2.2% | 1.6% | ||||
| U.S. National | 2.1% | 1.6% | 2.0% | 1.5% | ||||
| Sources: S&P Dow Jones Indices and CoreLogic | ||||||||
| Data through April 2021 | ||||||||