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In March, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index recorded a 3.4% annual gain, down slightly from 4.0% in February. The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 4.8% in March, down from 5.2% the previous month, while the 20-City Composite rose 4.1% year-over-year, down from 4.5%. Among the 20 cities, New York again posted the highest annual gain at 8.0%, followed by Chicago at 6.5% and Cleveland at 5.9%. Tampa again exhibited the lowest annual return, with prices falling 2.2%.

On a month-over-month basis, the U.S. National Index rose 0.8%, the 10-City Composite improved 1.2% and the 20-City Composite increased 1.1% before seasonal adjustment. Meanwhile, after seasonal adjustment, the National Index and the 20-City Composite posted decreases of 0.3% and 0.1%, respectively, while the 10-City Composite improved 0.01%. Of the cities tracked by the 20-City Composite Index, 18 showed monthly price growth, signaling that price increases were broad-based across the country. Cleveland (+1.8%), Seattle (+1.8%) and New York (+1.5%) led monthly price gains, while only Tampa (-0.3%) and Miami (-0.2%) exhibited monthly declines.

While affordability continues to be severely constrained, it did not worsen considerably since borrowing costs have stabilized. Mortgage rates continue to hover in the mid-6% range and monthly payment burdens are near multi-decade highs relative to incomes. Nevertheless, weaker buyer demand counteracted persistent supply shortages due to many existing homeowners reluctant to part with low pandemic-era mortgage rates and limited construction activity. March’s upswing in prices underscores both homeowners’ retention of equity and the housing market’s sensitivity to mortgage rates and affordability constraints.