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In February, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index recorded a 3.9% annual gain, down slightly from 4.1% in January. The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 5.2% in February, down from 5.4% the previous month, while the 20-City Composite rose 4.5% year-over-year, down from 4.7%. Among the 20 cities, New York again posted the highest annual gain at 7.7%, followed by Chicago at 7.0% and Cleveland at 6.6%. Tampa again exhibited the lowest annual return, with prices falling 1.5%.

On a month-over-month basis, the U.S. National Index rose 0.4%, the 10-City Composite improved 0.8% and the 20-City Composite increased 0.7% before seasonal adjustment. Meanwhile, after seasonal adjustment, the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted increases of 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively, while the U.S. National Index improved 0.3%. Of the cities tracked by the 20-City Composite Index, 17 showed monthly price increases, a reversal of recent seasonal weakness. San Francisco (+1.8%), Seattle (+1.6%) and Los Angeles (+1.5%) led monthly price gains, while only Tampa (-0.3%) and Miami (-0.3%) exhibited monthly declines.

Even as mortgage rates have slipped from their peaks to the mid-6% range, affordability continues to be a challenge, with the monthly payment burden remaining historically elevated relative to incomes. Consequently, buyer demand has cooled compared to peaks in recent years, but limited housing supply continues to support price growth—resulting in slower, more sustainable price increases rather than broad declines.