Phoenix home prices continue to lead nation in rate of increase
Jun 29, 2021, 11:30 AM | Updated: 2:46 pm
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
(AP Photo/Tony Dejak, File)
PHOENIX – Home prices are surging across the nation, and Phoenix continues to lead the wave.
The latest S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, which was released Tuesday, showed a 14.9% annual gain in April.
Phoenix, with a whopping 22.3% rise since the previous April, led the 20 major metropolitan areas that constitute the index for the 23rd consecutive month. San Diego (21.6%) and Seattle (20.3%) also saw prices go up by more than 20% in the past year.
The Valley also had the biggest monthly bump at 3.3%, outpacing the 2.1% rise of the 20-city index from March to April. Seattle and San Francisco, each at 3.1%, joined Phoenix with a month-over-month increase of more than 3%.
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“The market’s strength is broadly-based: all 20 cities rose, and all 20 gained more in the 12 months ended in April than they had gained in the 12 months ended in March,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a press release.
The demand for homes has skyrocketed as more Americans have been seeking out larger living spaces during the pandemic while mortgage rates have been at or near historically low levels. Meanwhile, supply has been low, setting off bidding wars for many properties. Last month, nearly half of homes sold were selling for above their asking price, according to realty company Redfin.
“The forces that have propelled home price growth to new highs over the past year remain in place and are offering little evidence of abating,” said Matthew Speakman, an economist at real estate data provider Zillow told The Associated Press.
Sales of existing homes have fallen for four straight months, likely because soaring prices have discouraged some would-be buyers or pushed them out of the market.
Still, demand is strong enough that a typical home was on the market for just 17 days last month, according to the National Association of Realtors. Nearly 9 of 10 homes were on the market for less than a month.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
