Home Prices Jump 3.8% Annually in December

The housing market is making some serious money moves. Home prices rose 3.8 percent annually in December, a jump from the 3.5 percent gain in November, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. With demand up and supply down, average home prices heating up in December comes as no surprise, but it is a welcome gain for builders as labor and material costs remain high.In the 20-city composite, home prices in 12 of the 20 cities increased in December more than they did the month before with Phoenix, Charlotte, and Tampa leading in gains. And with the spring buying season ramping up, home prices will most likely continue to rise in the coming months. 

The housing market heated up at the end of 2019, and that was reflected in growing gains in home values.

In December, home prices rose 3.8% annually on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index. That is up from the 3.5% gain in November. The 10-city composite increased 2.4% annually, up from 2% in the previous month. The 20-city composite rose 2.9%, up from 2.5% in the previous month.

Leading the list of cities with the largest gains were Phoenix, Charlotte and Tampa. Home prices in Phoenix were up 6.5% year over year, followed by Charlotte with a 5.3% increase and Tampa, where prices were 5.2% higher. Twelve of the 20 cities saw bigger price increases in the year ending December compared with November’s annual read. Every city in the 20-city composite saw a gain in home values. Chicago and New York saw the smallest annual gains at just 1% for each.

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