Two major home price indices show home price appreciation is still running well above historical norms. However, increases in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA’s)Housing Price Index (HMI) were all slightly smaller than the prior month. The Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 5.4 percent annual gain for June, down from a 5.9 percent increase in May. The 10-City Composite was 7.4 percent higher compared to a 7.8 percent annual increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite gained 6.5 percent dropping from the earlier +6.9 percent. New York reported 9.0 percent annual growth, the highest among the 20 cities, followed by San Diego and Las Vegas with annual increases of 8.7 percent and 8.5 percent, respectively. Portland once again held the lowest spot for year-over-year growth, 0.8 percent. The U.S. National Index, the 20-City Composite, and the 10-City Composite upward trends continued to decelerate from last month. Their pre-seasonal adjusted increases were 0.5 percent, 0.6 percent, and 0.6 percent, respectively. The seasonally adjusted changes were 0.2 percent for the National Index and 0.4 percent and 0.5 percent for the 20-City and 10-City Composites. “The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices continue to show above-trend real price performance when accounting for inflation,” says Brian D. Luke, CFA, Head of Commodities, Real & Digital Assets. “Home prices and inflation continue to factor into the political agenda coming into the election season. While both housing and inflation have slowed, the gap between the two is larger than historical norms, with our National Index averaging 2.8 percent more than the Consumer Price Index. That is a full percentage point above the 50-year average. Before accounting for inflation, home prices have risen over 1,100 percent since 1974, but have slightly more than doubled (111 percent) after accounting for inflation. MND NewsWireRead More