Nowhere to go but up? Home prices smash another record in May

Prices in 18 of the 20 cities in S&P’s Case-Shiller index are at all-time highs

Housing prices broke records for the third consecutive month in May, surging 16.6 percent over May 2020 (iStock)
Housing prices broke records for the third consecutive month in May, surging 16.6 percent over May 2020 (iStock)

As home sales stagnated in the spring, a nationwide seller’s market saw prices continue to skyrocket.

Housing prices broke records for the third consecutive month in May, surging 16.6 percent over May 2020 — the highest year-over-year jump in more than 30 years of data collected by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index.

“A month ago, I described April’s performance as ‘truly extraordinary,’ and this month I find myself running out of superlatives,” said Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

In April, prices had jumped 14.8 percent year-over-year, besting March’s then-record 13.2 percent annual increase. The national composite index is now 38 percent higher than its previous peak in July 2006.

Analysts attribute the continued strength to pandemic-spurred migration and a paucity of listings. In April, an analysis by Freddie Mac estimated the housing market would need 3.8 million more single-family homes to meet current demand.

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The West and Southwest saw the sharpest increases in the Case-Shiller report.

Phoenix, San Diego and Seattle brought the greatest year-over-year gains, each jumping over 23 percent.

The same five cities that reported their all-time highest annual gains in April — Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver and Seattle — set new records in May.

But the growth extended nationwide. Prices for all 20 cities in Case-Shiller’s index rose, both before and after seasonal adjustments.

“The market’s strength continues to be broadly based,” said Lazzara. “Prices in 18 of our 20 cities now stand at all-time highs.”