S&P CoreLogic: US Housing Prices Post Slowest Growth in 2 Years

Pandemic boomtowns now lag as Midwest and Northeast markets lead—a shift toward fundamentals over speculation, the report noted.

Rows of homes in the Sunset District in San Francisco. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Another key Wall Street economic benchmark indicates that U.S. home prices slowed faster than expected during the critical spring selling season, marking the slowest yearly growth in nearly two years.

The monthly S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index released on June 24 revealed that U.S. home prices increased by 2.7 percent year over year in April 2025, showing a slight decline from the previous reading in March. The S&P Dow Jones Indices calculates the average single-family home prices across the United States, based on changes in prices over the past three months.

“The housing market continued its gradual deceleration in April, with annual price gains slowing to their most modest pace in nearly two years,” said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“What’s particularly striking is how this cycle has reshuffled regional leadership—markets that were pandemic darlings are now lagging, while historically steady performers in the Midwest and Northeast are setting the pace. This rotation signals a maturing market that’s increasingly driven by fundamentals rather than speculative fervor.”

The seasonally adjusted U.S. National Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, was not only below expectations but also declined from a 3.4 percent gain in the previous month. The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 4.1 percent, down from 4.8 percent last month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 3.4 percent, down from 4.1 percent in March. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecasted a gain of 4 percent.

New York again reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities, with a 7.9 percent increase in April, followed by Chicago and Detroit, which saw increases of 6 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. Tampa posted the lowest return, falling 2.2 percent.

“The composition of these gains tells an important story: Approximately 1.7 percentage points of April’s annual increase occurred over the past six months, indicating that price momentum has been concentrated in the recent spring selling season rather than sustained throughout the year,” Godec said.

The S&P Dow Jones housing report was released one day after two other economic reports showed that the nation’s housing market faces strong headwinds amid rising interest and mortgage rates. On June 23, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that existing home sales increased in May after two consecutive months of decline, with all regions except the West posting gains.

Seattle real estate data analytics firm Redfin also reported in its opening session for the week that the U.S. median home sales price reached a record $440,997 in May, but only grew by 0.7 percent year over year, the slowest increase in two years. Redfin recently predicted that home prices will start declining on a year-over-year basis by the end of 2025.

Other key housing reports are also scheduled for later this week. The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will release the highly anticipated monthly residential sales report on June 25. The NAR will also release its Pending Home Sales Index on June 26.

Freddie Mac will also release its weekly mortgage rate report on June 25. Last week, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached a four-week low at 6.81 percent, but it is still higher than the year-ago rate of 6.69 percent.