Home-price growth in the US accelerated at the fastest rate since 2022, increasing pressure on buyers after the worst year for property sales in nearly three decades. 

Prices nationally climbed 6 per cent in January from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. That’s bigger than the 5.6 per cent annual gain in December. 

The housing market has been tough to navigate since borrowing costs started soaring in 2022, squeezing the purchasing power of many shoppers. While inventory has started to rise recently, homes listed for sale remain low by historical standards and the tight supply has helped keep prices high.

“Homeowners most likely saw healthy gains in the last year, no matter what city you were in, or if it was in an expensive or inexpensive neighbourhood,” Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. “No matter which way you slice it, the index performance closely resembled the broad market.”

A measure of values in 20 cities was up 6.6 per cent in January from a year earlier, compared with a 6.2 per cent gain in the previous month. San Diego led those cities with an 11.2 per cent increase, while prices in Los Angeles were up 8.6 per cent. 

The index tracks the three months through January, when the average mortgage rate on a 30-year loan dropped from a high of 7.76 per cent to 6.69 per cent. Demand has started to pick up as borrowing costs eased, with sales of previously owned homes surging to the highest in a year in February. BLOOMBERG

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