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M REPORT | 57 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST DATA Areas Where the Housing Market 'Accelerated' Home prices remain particularly strong in the Southeast and West, and comparatively weak in the Midwest and Northeast. A cocktail of demographic and economic factors continues to spearhead higher home prices. That has contributed to the U.S. index reaching a new record high in June, according the National Home Price Index for June 2020 morning, issued by S&P Core- Logic Shiller. The report, however, indicates a slowing month-over-month growth. Covering all nine U.S. cen- sus divisions, in June, the Index reported an annual spurt of 4.3%, mirroring the month before. Meantime, the 10-City Composite checked in at 2.8%, sagging from the previous month, which came in at 3.0%. Another downer: the 20-City Composite chimed in at a year-over-year gain of 3.5%, falling short of 3.6% the month before. In June, among the 19 cities; excluding Detroit, at 9.0%, Phoenix paced the pack among those re- porting the highest year-over-year gains. Next was Seattle at 6.5%, followed by Tampa, 5.9%. Higher strides in prices in the year ending June 2020 versus the year ending May 2020 were reported by five of the 19 cities. A 0.6% spike month over month was posted by the National Index. The 10-City and 20-City Composites, meanwhile, para- chuted 0.1% and 0.2% respectively preceding seasonal adjustment in June, after which a 0.2% month- over-month hike was registered by the National Index. There was a drop off of 0.1% in the 10-City Composite and no gains posted in the 20-City Composite. With the exception of Detroit, 16 of 19 cities reported increases before seasonal adjustment in June. Following seasonal adjustment, 12 of the 19 cities reported jumps. June's gains were quite broad- based, said Craig Lazzara, Managing Director and Global Head of Index Investment Strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "Prices increased in all 19 cities for which we have data, accelerating in five of them." Phoenix retains the top spot for the 13th consecutive month, he continued, with a gain of 9.0% for June. In Seattle, there was a jump of 6.5% in home prices, while Tampa chimed in at 5.9%, Charlotte, 5.7%, he noted. "As has been the case for the last several months, prices were particularly strong in the Southeast and West, and compara- tively weak in the Midwest and, especially, Northeast." Added Selma Hepp, Deputy Chief Economist for CoreLogic: "The strength of the Case-Shiller index reflects an ideal confluence of demographic and home buying fundamentals which keep driving home prices higher." On one hand, she added, there's a very limited supply of homes; on the other, a strong millennial demand driven by record-low mortgage rates and a need for more space. "But the hous- ing market also highlights the tale of two income stratums, Hepp said. In one group, there are those who lost their income and are relying on forbearance programs; in the other group, which fared better, individu- als are able to purchase a home. It should be noted that for March through June, transaction records are unavailable for Wayne County. Last month, reportedly, in May, there was an uptick of 4.5% year over year in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine census divisions. However, that reflected a droop from April's 4.6% annual uptick. What's more, the 10-City Composite's 3.1% annual increase fell short of the 3.3 level the month before. Meantime, the 20-City Composite's 3.7% year-over-year gain fell short of the 3.9% gain recorded the previous month. Q2 2020: Metro Home Price Breakdown Nearly every metro area in America experienced an increase in home prices during the second quarter of the year. A ccording to the latest quarterly report by the National As- sociation of Realtors (NAR), nearly every metro area in the nation saw a rise in home prices during Q2 2020. Specifi- cally, NAR revealed that median single-family home prices in 96% of America's measured market metro areas rose (year-over-year). The 174 of 181 metro areas that experienced this uptick in home prices is ironically represents the exact same percentage uptick that was experienced during the first quarter of 2020. According to NAR's data, the average existing single-family home price tag dur- ing the second quarter of 2020 came in just around $291,300. When measured on a year-over-year basis, this price tag represents an uptick 4.2%. While this appreciation is welcome news, it does pale in comparison to the pre-pandemic growth rate (7.7%) that was seen in just last quarter (the first quarter of 2020). NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun provided his expert insights on the current state of the housing market, specifically regarding what is happening with home prices: "Home prices have held up well, largely due to the combination of very strong demand for hous- ing and a limited supply of homes for sale. Historically-low inventory continues to reinforce and even increase prices in some areas." Among those metro areas that experienced the most growth were Huntsville, Alabama (13.5%); Memphis, Tennessee (13.4%); Boise, Idaho (12.6%); Spokane-Spokane Valley, Washington (11.8%), Indianapolis, Indiana (10.8%), and Phoenix, Arizona (10.2%). Yun further commented on the report's findings, pointing to what is most likely in store for the days ahead as record-low mortgage rates continue to attract new buyers: "Unless an increasing number of new homes are constructed, some buyers could miss out on the opportunity to purchase a home or have the opportunity delayed. In the meantime, prices show no sign of decreasing."