Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Home Prices Up 4.9% Year Over Year in April, According to First American Data & Analytics Monthly Home Price Index Report

Rhea-AI Summary

The First American Data & Analytics April 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report reveals a year-over-year home price increase of 4.9% in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area. Nationally, home prices rose by 6.1% over the same period. Chief Economist Mark Fleming attributes this to increased housing supply and decreased affordability due to higher mortgage rates, leading to a cooling trend in price appreciation. The report segments home prices into starter, mid, and luxury tiers, with starter homes showing the highest appreciation. Specific metro areas like Pittsburgh, Miami, and St. Louis saw double-digit increases in starter home prices. The next HPI release is scheduled for June 2024.

Positive

• Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land home prices increased by 4.9% year-over-year.
• National HPI rose by 6.1% year-over-year.
• Starter homes showed the highest price appreciation, particularly in Pittsburgh (+12.1%), Miami (+11.6%), and St. Louis (+10.8%).
• Increased housing supply due to more existing-home listings.

Negative

• Affordability has weakened due to higher mortgage rates.
• Price appreciation is cooling, with month-over-month growth peaking at 1.3% in February but slowing down.
• Higher mortgage rates are reducing housing demand.

‘Higher-for-Longer’ Cools National House Price Appreciation

—Expect year-over-year price appreciation to follow this cooling trend in the months to come, says Chief Economist Mark Fleming—

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- First American Data & Analytics, a leading national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions and a division of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), today released its April 2024 Home Price Index (HPI) report. The report tracks home price changes less than four weeks behind real time at the national, state and metropolitan (Core-Based Statistical Area) levels and includes metropolitan price tiers that segment sale transactions into starter, mid and luxury tiers. The full report can be found here.

April¹ 2024 Non-Seasonally Adjusted (NSA) HPI

Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Market
Metric	Change in HPI
March-April 2024 (month over month)	+0.1 percent
April 2023-April 2024 (year over year)	+4.9 percent
National HPI
Metric	Change in HPI
March-April 2024 (month over month)	+0.5 percent
April 2023-April 2024 (year over year)	+6.1 percent
_______________
1 The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available.

Chief Economist National Home Price Index Analysis:

“After years of historically low levels of homes for sale, the pace of existing-home listings has modestly increased, bringing much-needed supply to the housing market. However, just as inventory levels have increased, affordability has weakened as mortgage rates have drifted higher in response to the Fed’s decision to keep the federal funds rate ‘higher for longer,’ reducing demand,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “More supply amid a pullback in demand means price appreciation is cooling. The month-over-month growth rate peaked in February at 1.3 percent, but has since cooled significantly. This supply-demand dynamic is likely to persist, so expect year-over-year price appreciation to follow this cooling trend in the months to come.”

Year-Over-Year Price-Tier Data for the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land Metro Area: April 2023 to April 2024

The First American Data & Analytics HPI segments home price changes at the metropolitan level into three price tiers based on local market sales data: starter tier, which represents home sales prices at the bottom third of the market price distribution; mid-tier, which represents home sales prices in the middle third of the market price distribution; and the luxury tier, which represents home sales prices in the top third of the market price distribution.

CBSA	Starter	Mid-Tier	Luxury
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land	6.6%	4.7%	4.8%

“Nationally, price appreciation for starter homes continues to outperform other price tiers. Given starter homes are the least supplied and the most demanded segment of the market, it’s no surprise that, even in a ‘higher-for-longer’ rate environment, there are markets with double-digit annualized price appreciation,” said Fleming. “Starter-tier prices are increasing year over year by more than 10 percent in St. Louis, Miami and Pittsburgh.”

April 2024 First American Data & Analytics Price Tier HPI Highlights

Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) Ranked by Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in Starter Tier HPI
CBSA	Change in Starter Tier HPI	Change in Mid-Tier HPI	Change in Luxury Tier HPI
Pittsburgh	+12.1 percent	+6.1 percent	+4.1 percent
Miami	+11.6 percent	+9.7 percent	+8.9 percent
St. Louis	+10.8 percent	+4.1 percent	+3.5 percent
New York	+9.9 percent	+7.4 percent	+1.1 percent
Warren, Mich.	+9.6 percent	+5.6 percent	+7.9 percent

Additional April 2024 First American Data & Analytics HPI Highlights

Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) with Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in HPI
CBSA	Change in HPI
Anaheim, Calif.	+10.2 percent
Miami	+9.5 percent
San Diego	+8.0 percent
Warren, Mich.	+7.6 percent
Pittsburgh	+7.6 percent
There were no CBSAs with a Year-Over-Year Decrease in HPI

HPI data for all 50 states and the largest 30 CBSAs by population is available here.

Next Release

The next release of the First American Data & Analytics House Price Index will take place the week of June 17, 2024.

First American Data & Analytics HPI Methodology

The First American Data & Analytics HPI report measures single-family home prices, including distressed sales, with indices updated monthly beginning in 1980 through the month of the current report. HPI data is provided at the national, state and CBSA levels and includes preliminary index estimates for the month prior to the report (i.e. the preliminary result of July transactions is reported in August). The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available.

The HPI uses a repeat-sales methodology, which measures prices changes for the same property over time using more than 46 million paired transactions to generate the indices. In non-disclosure states, the HPI utilizes a combination of public sales records, MLS sold and active listings, and appraisal data to estimate house prices. This comprehensive approach is particularly effective in areas where there is limited availability of accurate sale prices, such as non-disclosure states. Property type, price and location data are used to create more refined market segment indices. Real Estate-Owned transactions are not included.

Disclaimer

Opinions, estimates, forecasts and other views contained in this page are those of First American’s Chief Economist, do not necessarily represent the views of First American or its management, should not be construed as indicating First American’s business prospects or expected results, and are subject to change without notice. Although the First American Economics team attempts to provide reliable, useful information, it does not guarantee that the information is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. © 2024 by First American. Information from this page may be used with proper attribution.

About First American Data & Analytics

First American Data & Analytics, a division of First American Financial Corporation, is a national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions. First American maintains and curates the industry’s largest property and ownership dataset that includes more than 8 billion document images. Its major platforms and products include: DataTree^®, FraudGuard^®, RegsData^®, First American TaxSource™ and ACI^®. Find out more about how First American Data & Analytics powers the real estate, mortgage and title settlement services industries with advanced decisioning solutions at www.FirstAmDNA.com.

About First American

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a premier provider of title, settlement and risk solutions for real estate transactions. With its combination of financial strength and stability built over more than 130 years, innovative proprietary technologies, and unmatched data assets, the company is leading the digital transformation of its industry. First American also provides data products to the title industry and other third parties; valuation products and services; mortgage subservicing; home warranty products; banking, trust and wealth management services; and other related products and services. With total revenue of $6.0 billion in 2023, the company offers its products and services directly and through its agents throughout the United States and abroad. In 2024, First American was named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Great Place to Work^® and Fortune Magazine for the ninth consecutive year. The company was named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company in 2023. More information about the company can be found at www.firstam.com.

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Corporate Communications

First American Financial Corporation

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First American Financial Corporation

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Source: First American Data & Analytics

FAQ

What is the year-over-year home price increase in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area for April 2024?

Home prices in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land area increased by 4.9% year-over-year in April 2024.

How much did the national home price index (HPI) increase from April 2023 to April 2024?

The national HPI increased by 6.1% from April 2023 to April 2024.

Which metro areas saw the highest year-over-year increase in starter home prices in April 2024?

Pittsburgh (+12.1%), Miami (+11.6%), and St. Louis (+10.8%) saw the highest year-over-year increase in starter home prices in April 2024.

What factors are contributing to the cooling trend in home price appreciation?

Increased housing supply and weakened affordability due to higher mortgage rates are contributing to the cooling trend in home price appreciation.

When is the next release of the First American Data & Analytics Home Price Index (HPI) report?

The next release of the First American Data & Analytics Home Price Index (HPI) report is scheduled for the week of June 17, 2024.