Data Analysis

The national index rose 1.5 percent in the year through June, the second straight month of acceleration.

S&P Cotality Case-Shiller's national index gained 1.5 percent year over year in June, up from 1.2 percent in May. Chicago led at 6.9 percent and Seattle was weakest at negative 2.0 percent.

# Home Prices Firmed Again in June, With the National Index Up 1.5 Percent

S&P Cotality Case-Shiller reported Tuesday that its U.S. National Home Price Index rose 1.5 percent in the year through June, up from 1.2 percent in May. It is the second straight month the annual rate has accelerated.

The 10-city composite gained 2.9 percent over the year, up from 2.4 percent. The 20-city composite gained 2.1 percent, up from 1.6 percent. Month to month, the national index rose 0.37 percent before seasonal adjustment and 0.13 percent after.

Chicago led the 20 metros at 6.9 percent annual growth, followed by New York at 4.8 percent and Cleveland at 4.1 percent. Seattle was weakest at negative 2.0 percent, with Las Vegas at negative 1.9 percent and Denver at negative 1.2 percent.

Rebecca Kaufman, Associate Director of Commodities at S&P DJI, said in the release that "while home prices continue to decline in real terms, lower inflation and firmer nominal home price growth in June helped slow that pace of erosion."

That framing matters more than the headline. A 1.5 percent nominal gain against prevailing inflation leaves most owners flat or slightly behind in real terms, even in metros printing positive numbers.

The longer series puts the number in proportion. Annual growth peaked at 20.8 percent in March 2022, went briefly negative in May 2023 at minus 0.29 percent, recovered through 2024, and has spent the last year grinding between roughly 0.8 and 1.5 percent. June's reading is the top of that band rather than a departure from it. What the chart shows is a market that stopped falling, never re-accelerated, and has been flat for four straight quarters.

What it means if you are buying or selling

National price indices set expectations, and expectations are what sellers price against. A seller working from 2024 comparables in a market that has since gone sideways is asking buyers to pay for appreciation the index does not show.

The spread between Chicago at 6.9 percent and Seattle at negative 2.0 percent is nearly nine points inside a single 20-metro index. There is no national housing market in any operational sense, and a national number should be read as a backdrop rather than a guide to any particular street.

Limitations

Case-Shiller reports a three-month moving average. The figure labeled June covers April through June, so it lags current conditions by more than the date implies.

The index measures repeat sales of the same properties, which excludes new construction and, in the metro indices, most condominium activity. In Florida markets where condos are a large share of transactions, the index describes a narrower slice of the market than the headline suggests.

Detroit's index was unavailable this month because of transaction recording delays, so that metro carries May data.

This report covers the national and composite indices only. Metro-level figures for Miami and Tampa were not verified against S&P's own metro file in time for publication and are held for a follow-up.

Sources

S&P Dow Jones Indices, S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, released August 25, 2026. https://www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/index-announcements/article/sp-cotality-case-shiller-index-reports-annual-gain-in-june-2026/

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.