Home Prices Under Biden Hit Yet Another All-Time High

Home prices surged in March to another all-time high for the sixth month out of the last twelve, S&P Global announced Tuesday.

The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures home prices across the entire country, rose 6.5% year-over-year in March, matching the annual gain in February, according to S&P Global. The increase in the price of homes is higher than the general pace of inflation, which increased 3.4% year-over-year in April.

“This month’s report boasts another all-time high,” Brian Luke, head of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a press release. “We’ve witnessed records repeatedly break in both stock and housing markets over the past year. Our National Index has reached new highs in six of the last 12 months.”

The top 10 U.S. cities saw an even bigger increase in the price of homes, rising 8.2% annually in March, up from 8.1% in February, according to the release. The index for the top 20 U.S. cities had their prices increase by 7.3% in February and 7.4% in March compared to the previous year.

San Diego reported the largest increase in home prices in March, increasing 11.1%, followed by New York and Cleveland, where prices increased 9.2% and 8.8%, respectively, according to the report. In contrast, Portland reported the lowest price growth for the month, at just 2.2% year-over-year.

Americans looking to purchase a home have also been hit particularly hard by a surge in the average rate for a 30-year mortgage, which currently sits at nearly 7%. The average reached a peak under President Joe Biden of nearly 8% in October 2023 after quickly rising from below 3% at the start of 2021.