Soaring home prices set another record as the housing market keeps getting less affordable

A row of homes in Bentonville, Arkansas.Shutterstock

• In August, home prices climbed a seasonally adjusted 0.68% from July, hitting a record high for the fourth consecutive month, per Black Knight.

• Prices in nearly half the nation's 50 largest markets climbed by 0.75% or more.

• "Even on a non-adjusted basis, August's gain of +0.24% was more than 60% larger than the 25-year average for the month."

Home prices climbed in August and hit a record for the fourth consecutive month, according to Black Knight data released Monday.

Compared to July, home prices were up in August a seasonally adjusted 0.68%, and prices climbed in nearly half of the nation's 50 largest markets by 0.75% or more.

Nationally, prices are now 2.5% above the 2022 peak on a seasonally adjusted basis, Intercontinental Exchange data shows.

"After essentially flattening earlier this year, year-over-year home price growth has been reaccelerating for the last few months," said ICE vice president of enterprise research, Andy Walden. "Even on a non-adjusted basis, August's gain of +0.24% was more than 60% larger than the 25-year average for the month. Either way you look at it, the increase was sufficient to push annual appreciation up to a stronger-than-expected +3.8%."

He added that August marked the third month of "clear acceleration" in home price growth at the national level.

There could be some reprieve in store for buyers this fall, though. According to Zillow, the housing market is actually showing signs of cooling in a rare moment of opportunity for buyers this year. The percentage of home listings that had a price cut jumped 9.2% in the week leading to September 16, the real estate firm said in a note Thursday.

"For determined buyers, with enough budget room to accommodate the recent jump in mortgage rates, this fall is looking more and more like a sweet spot: There are more motivated sellers and more active listings overall than any time since last December, improving buyers' chance to find the right fit," Zillow senior economist Jeff Tucker said.

While competition among homebuyers has kept prices elevated, high mortgage rates have also pushed many potential house hunters to the sidelines. Last week, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate reached 7.31%, per Freddie Mac, the highest level in over two decades.

Zillow economists have previously predicted home prices would steadily increase through the first half of next year, regardless of the current signs of cooling.

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