Steel Markets
Case Shiller Home Prices Continue to March Higher
Written by Sandy Williams
April 23, 2018
Low inventory continues to drive up home prices across the U.S. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price NSA Index rose 6.3 percent in March, up from 6.1 percent in February.
“Year-over-year prices measured by the National index have increased continuously for the past 70 months, since May 2012. Over that time, the price increases averaged 6 percent per year,” said David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.
The 20-City index posted a 6.8 percent annual gain, compared to 6.4 percent the previous month. None of the cities on the list experienced a monthly decline in March. Inventory for entry-level homes is tightest, making it difficult for first-time buyers to find homes at affordable prices.
West Coast cities experienced some of the highest annual gains. Seattle led the 20-city Index with a 12.7 percent annual gain, followed by Las Vegas at 11.6 percent and San Francisco at 10.1 percent.
Increasing employment levels are supporting home price increases, said Blitzer. “With expectations for continued economic growth and further employment gains, the current run of rising prices is likely to continue.”
About the Index:
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, published monthly, accurately track the price path of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area provided. Each index combines matched price pairs for thousands of individual houses from the available arms-length sales data. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index tracks the value of single-family housing within the United States. The index is a composite of single-family home price indices for the nine U.S. Census divisions and is calculated quarterly. The 10- and 20-city indices are value-weighted averages of the metro area indices.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Steel Summit: Schneider sees SDI ‘on the edge of a very good run’
Steel Dynamics Inc. (SDI) President and Chief Operating Officer, Barry Schneider, remains bullish about the Fort Wayne, Ind.-based steelmaker’s position in the current market.
Sheet market participants say sales still in a slump
Across the US and throughout the steel supply chain, market participants are reporting another painfully quiet week for hot-rolled (HR) coil sales.
CRU: Lower sheet prices have pulled back demand for imports
Domestic sheet prices in the US remained under pressure, limiting interest in imports, while domestic prices for longs products continued to rise.
President Trump intends to set additional steel tariffs
While boarding Airforce One on Friday, US President Donald Trump stated that he would be setting more steel tariffs and putting ~100% tariffs on semiconductors and chips.
USS, government officials give update on Clairton Coke Works incident
U.S. Steel, Allegheny County executive Sara Innamorato, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro clarified details from early reports about the Clairton Coke Works facility explosion just one day earlier.