Steel Markets

Climbing Home Prices Ease Slightly in April
Written by Sandy Williams
June 26, 2018
The climb in home prices eased somewhat in April, according to the latest data from the S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price Index. The national index showed a 6.4 percent annual gain in April, down from 6.5 percent in March.
The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 6.2 percent, down from 6.4 percent in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 6.6 percent year-over-year gain, down from 6.7 percent in the previous month.
Cities in the western U.S. led price increases in April with Seattle showing an annual gain of 13.1 percent, Las Vegas 12.7 percent and San Francisco 10.9 percent.
“The favorable economy and moderate mortgage rates both support recent gains in housing,” said David M. Blitzer Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “One factor pushing prices up is the continued low supply of homes for sale. The months-supply is currently 4.3 months, up from levels below 4 months earlier in the year, but still low.”
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, published monthly, accurately track the price path of typical single-family homes located in each metropolitan area. 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

Drilling activity slows in US but picks up steam in Canada
Oil and gas drilling in the US slowed for a third consecutive week, while activity in Canada hovered just shy of the 19-week high reached two weeks prior.

SMU Survey: Buyers remain leery of tariffs, but more see reshoring happening
This week’s SMU survey reveals that a growing number of steel market participants are weary of tariffs and are awaiting evidence of progress reshoring. At the start of 2025, now-second-term President, Donald Trump, pronounced that his plan to implement tariffs would result in increased revenue for the US.

Hot-rolled coil market remains slow, market participants say
Hot rolled spot market participants reported another week of moderate demand and ample supply, with no strong signs that conditions will change next week.

Plate prices slip even as mills officially keep tags unchanged
US plate market participants are not fazed by the constricted nature of the current spot market pricing environment. Right now, they said, mill’s choosing to hold prices from one month to the next makes sense because service centers remain amply supplied and demand is stable. Modest upticks or slips in prices are aligned with most of the participants' expectations right now.

Still no cure for the summertime HR market blues
Seasonal steel slowdowns combined with ongoing anxieties about tariffs and mill strategies have dampened sentiment for several hot-rolled steel market participants this week. Buyers are jittery, market stands still The operator of a Midwest-based service center said that steel buyers are scared. “Everyone is afraid to buy steel right now. Unless you’re on a […]