The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller home prices index is America’s most widely regarded study of home valuations. Its latest edition, which is for December, showed that the increase in housing markets continues to slow. It also showed that one market is falling faster than all others year over year. The market is San Francisco, one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. (Click here to see where young people what to relocate to the most.)
Nationally, home prices rose 5.8%. That is down from nearly 20% early last year. It was also down from 7.6% in November. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, commented, “The cooling in home prices that began in June 2022 continued through year end, as December marked the sixth consecutive month of declines for our National Composite Index.”
Home prices in San Francisco dropped 4.2% year over year in December. The only other city among the top 20 metros in the United States that had a drop was Seattle at 1.8%. Prices in several cities continued to surge. Tampa’s rose 13.9% between the two periods, and Miami’s rose 15.9%.
While 4.2% does not seem large, home prices in San Francisco surged for a decade before the pandemic.
San Francisco is the second most expensive city in the United States after neighbor San Jose. The median home price in the city is about $1 million.
Home prices in San Francisco have dropped for at least two reasons. The first is that 6% mortgage rates have put the prices of homes in the city well out of reach of most buyers. The second is worker mobility.
The COVID-19 pandemic work-from-home opportunity led tens of thousands of people to leave expensive homes on the coast to move to inland cities or metros in the south. Many of these had a perceived better quality of life and a lower cost of living. San Francisco has suffered simply because it is so expensive.
San Francisco remains unusually expensive, even if home prices have started to slip. If mortgage rates stay higher, the drop is not over.
Are You Still Paying With a Debit Card?
The average American spends $17,274 on debit cards a year, and it’s a HUGE mistake. First, debit cards don’t have the same fraud protections as credit cards. Once your money is gone, it’s gone. But more importantly you can actually get something back from this spending every time you swipe.
Issuers are handing out wild bonuses right now. With some you can earn up to 5% back on every purchase. That’s like getting a 5% discount on everything you buy!
Our top pick is kind of hard to imagine. Not only does it pay up to 5% back, it also includes a $200 cash back reward in the first six months, a 0% intro APR, and…. $0 annual fee. It’s quite literally free money for any one that uses a card regularly. Click here to learn more!
Flywheel Publishing has partnered with CardRatings to provide coverage of credit card products. Flywheel Publishing and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.