The pace of United States home-price growth continued to slow in January, S&P Dow Jones Indices said, noting that “[p]rice levels remain elevated, but the rate of appreciation has slowed materially.” 

Specifically, the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index rose 0.9% year over year in January, compared to a 1.1% gain in December. 

The 10-City Composite Index saw an annual increase of 1.7%, down from a 2.0% increase the previous month, while the 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 1.2%, down from a 1.4% rise in the previous month. 

“Splitting the year into two halves sharpens the picture,” said Nicholas Godec, head of fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The National Index rose 2.2% over the first six months of the period, then fell 1.3% over the most recent six — a swing that explains why annual gains have compressed to under 1% despite prices remaining historically elevated.” 

S&P Dow Jones noted that inflation outpaced national home-price appreciation for the eighth month in a row, with the Consumer Price Index running 1.5 percentage points above the 0.9% annual gain.  

“In real terms, home values have declined modestly over the past year,” Godec said. 

In Seattle, the home-price index slid 0.62% year over year and 0.59% month over month in January.