The housing market in the States heated up at the end of 2019, and that was reflected in growing gains in home values.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index showed that in December, home prices rose 3.8% annually. That is up from the 3.5% gain in November. The 10-City Composite increased 2.4% annually, up from 2% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite rose 2.9%, up from 2.5% in the previous month.
Leading the list of American cities with the largest gains were Phoenix, Charlotte and Tampa. Home prices in Phoenix were up 6.5% year-over-year, followed by Charlotte with a 5.3% increase and Tampa, where prices were 5.2% higher. In all, 12 of the 20 cities saw bigger price increases in the year ending December 2019 compared with November’s annual read. Every city in the 20-city composite saw a gain in home values. Chicago and New York saw the smallest annual gains at just 1% for each.