Home Prices Cooled Again in June

If you’ve been house hunting this summer, you might have found yourself with a bit more room to bargain than in previous months. 

Home prices in June had risen 18% over 12 months, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index released Tuesday. While that’s quite high, historically speaking, the second month of slowdowns has brought it a bit below the record highs seen just a few months earlier. As shown in the chart below, prices are definitely headed in a more homebuyer-friendly direction these days.

The report adds to evidence that the real estate market, high-flying during the pandemic, has been dragged down by a combination of factors including rampant inflation, mortgage interest rates that have risen in recent months, and the sheer fact that prices have gotten so high that many house hunters are being priced out of the market. 

“With home prices at new highs, inflation giving many workers an effective pay cut, and mortgage rates 250 basis points above last year’s levels, buyers are finding themselves hard-up against an affordability ceiling,” George Ratiu, senior economist at Realtor.com, wrote in an email commentary.

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