[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] U.S. home prices continued their rapid rise in the 20% range in April. However, the rate of increase slightly declined compared to the previous month, showing signs of a slowdown in the upward trend.
According to U.S. economic media CNBC on the 28th (local time), the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which measures the average home price trends in major cities, rose 20.4% year-over-year in April. This is slightly lower than the 20.6% increase recorded in March. It is the first time since November last year that the month-over-month growth rate has decreased. CNBC evaluated this as "a potential first sign that the overheating of U.S. home prices is beginning to cool."
The 10-city home price index rose 19.7%, and the 20-city home price index increased 21.2%, both slightly higher than the previous month. Among the 20 major cities, nine cities mainly located in the southern region, including Tampa (35.8%), Miami (33.3%), and Phoenix (31.3%), saw higher price growth rates than in March.
Craig Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P Dow Jones, said, "April this year showed the first signs of deceleration in U.S. home price growth," but also noted that "all 20 major cities recorded double-digit growth rates." However, he mentioned the recent sharp rise in mortgage rates, stating, "The macro environment may not be able to sustain this extraordinary home price growth for much longer." Due to the impact of interest rate hikes this year, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate in the U.S. recently surpassed 6%.
Recently, U.S. home sales have also shown a decline for four consecutive months. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), existing home sales in May plunged 8.6% compared to the same month last year.
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