U.S. home price appreciation continues to be stable in December

Home price appreciation in the U.S. remained stable in the month of December. The data released today indicated a modest rate of home price appreciation in the month. The FHFA purchase-only House Price index rose 0.3 percent sequentially. The November print for the FHFA index was upwardly revised by one tenth to 0.5 percent.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city Home Price Index rise 0.6 percent sequentially, as compared with Barclays’ expectations of 0.5 percent. On a year-on-year basis, the home price appreciation remains strong, with the FHFA seeing 6.5 percent rise and the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index seeing a growth of 6.3 percent. This rate of appreciation is towards the higher end of the 5.5-6.5 percent range seen in 2016-2017. The lean inventory situation, particularly among existing homes, is one of the factors underpinning home prices. Overall, a modest, yet stable rate of home price appreciation is expected in 2018, noted Barclays in a research report.

Region wise for the FHFA index, all except three (Middle Atlantic, West N. Central and West S. Central) recorded modest rises in home prices in December. In the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index report indicated that regional momentum in home price appreciation continues to be strong, with all 20 cities recording a rise in prices.

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