Home price growth hit a record high in June as strong demand continued to outpace the number of homes on the market.
The national S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller home price index, which measures average house prices in major metropolitan areas across the country, rose 18.6% in the year ending June, compared of 16.8% per annum of the previous month. June represented the highest annual price growth rate since the index began in 1987.
House prices have skyrocketed this year as the inventory of homes for sale remains well below typical levels and ultra-light interest rates have spurred demand. Homes sold this spring and summer usually received several offers and were sold above the asking price.
The Case-Shiller index, which measures repeated sales data, reports a two-month delay. Since June, the real estate market frenzy has slowed slightly, although prices continue to rise at a rapid pace. The average selling price of existing homes in July rose 17.8% from a year earlier, to $ 359,900, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this month.
“The last few months have been extraordinary not only in the level of price gains, but in the consistency of earnings across the country,” said Craig Lazzara, CEO and head of global S&P index investment strategy Dow Jones Indices.