US house price data
- Prior was +11.1%
- 20-city price index 11.9% vs 11.8% expected
- 20-city price index +1.2% m/m vs +1.25% prior
Comments in the release:
"Strong home price gains continued in February 2021," says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P DJI. The National Composite Index marked its ninth month of accelerating prices with a 12.0% gain from year-ago levels, up from 11.2% in January. This acceleration is also reflected in the 10- and 20-City Composites (up 11.7% and 11.9%, respectively). The market's strength continues to be broadly-based: all 20 cities rose, and 19 cities gained more in the 12 months ended in February than they had gained in the 12 months ended in January.
"More than 30 years of S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data help us to put February's results into historical context. The National Composite's 12.0% gain is the highest recorded since February 2006, exactly 15 years ago, and lies comfortably in the top decile of historical performance. Housing's strength is reflected across all 20 cities; February's price gains in every city are above that city's median level, and rank in the top quartile of all reports in 18 cities.
"These data remain consistent with the hypothesis that COVID has encouraged potential buyers to move from urban apartments to suburban homes. This demand may represent buyers who accelerated purchases that would have happened anyway over the next several years. Alternatively, there may have been a secular change in preferences, leading to a permanent shift in the demand curve for housing. Future data will be required to analyze this question.
"Phoenix's 17.4% increase led all cities for the 21st consecutive month, with San Diego (+17.0%) and Seattle (+15.4%) close behind. Although prices were strongest in the West (+13.0%) and Southwest (+12.9%), every region logged double-digit gains"
