US home prices climbed just 2.4 percent from a year ago
US home prices rose at a slower pace in May, a sign that many would-be buyers are finding properties unaffordable.
WASHINGTON (AP) — US home prices rose at a slower pace in May, a sign that many would-be buyers are finding properties unaffordable.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 2.4 percent in May from a year earlier, according to a Tuesday report. Price growth decelerated slightly from the 2.5 percent year-over-year gain in April.
‘‘Thwarted by climbing prices for years, buyers are no longer willing to pay any price,’’ said Matthew Speakman, an economist at the real estate company Zillow. ‘‘There were too few homes on the market and buyers were unable to find houses that fit both their needs and their budgets, so they took a breather.’’
The sluggish price growth stems largely from the most expensive markets, where years of price growth have undermined affordability. Home prices rose less than 2 percent in Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, and San Francisco. Prices in the typically hot market of Seattle fell 1.2 percent from a year ago, a sharp reversal from an annualized gain of 13.6 percent in May 2018.
The strongest price gains were in Las Vegas at 6.4 percent, Phoenix at 5.7 percent, and Tampa at 5.1 percent.
There were signs in a National Association of Realtors report on existing homes that prices may get some support from lower mortgage rates. NAR said Tuesday that its pending home sales index rose 2.8 percent to 108.3 in June, up from 105.4 in May. Pending home sales are up 1.6 percent from their pace a year ago, snapping a 17-month streak of annual declines.
Sales have probably been helped by lower interest rates, which are on average under 4 percent on a 30-year mortgage.
All four regions saw contracts up from May and last year, with the West seeing the biggest jump in June at 5.4 percent. The West is also up the most year-over-year with gains of 2.5 percent.
Pending sales is a measure of home purchases that are usually completed a month or two later.
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