April Case-Shiller shows inflation outpacing home prices

The pace of annual home price appreciation picked up slightly in April, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index for April that was released on Tuesday. 

In April, the national home price index rose 0.8% year-over-year to a reading of 332.68. This is up from a 0.7% annual increase in March. On a monthly basis, the national index was up 0.77%, up from a 0.74% monthly increase in March. 

“April’s figures confirm that U.S. home prices remain essentially flat, with the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index up a scant 0.8% year over year, just above March’s 0.7% pace,” Nicholas Godec, theHead of Fixed income tradables and commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. 

Godec also noted that with inflation accelerating to an annual pace of 3.8% in April, roughly three percentage points higher than the annual home price increase, U.S. home values have now declined in real terms for an 11th straight month. 

HousingWire Data shows softer home price appreciation

HousingWire Data, which is more up-to-date, reveals softer home price appreciation for the week ending on June 26, 2026. For this week, the median list price was $450,000, down 3.2% compared to a year ago and flat compared to a month prior. 

Among some of the nation’s largest metros, as of the end of June 2026, HousingWire Data shows that Chicago (+7.3%), Atlanta (+3.2%) and Miami (+3.1%) have some of the largest annual median list price growth. 

Case Shiller 10-city composite index

The 10-city composite index recorded a 1.8% annual increase in April to a reading of 367.60, up from a 1.5% annual increase in March. The 20-city index (324.43) also recorded a slight acceleration of home price growth, posting a 1.1% year-over-year increase in April, up from 0.9% a month prior. 

Month-over-month the 10-city composite was 1.06%, down from a 1.18% monthly increase in March, while the 20-city composite was up 1.03% in April, down from 1.05% a month prior.

Among the top-20 markets analyzed, there was a nearly nine percentage point gap in annual price changes between the strongest market (Chicago +6.5% annual change) and the weakest (Seattle -2.3%). 

New York (+3.8%) and Cleveland (+3.2%) rounded out the top-three markets for annual home price growth in April, while Denver (-1.85%) and Tampa (-1.77%) rounded out the bottom three. 

“Geographic dispersion remains pronounced,” Godec said. “Midwest and Northeast markets are still leading moderate growth, while many Sun Belt and Western metros see ongoing declines.” 

According to Godec, housing affordability continues to remain a key headwind impacting consumers and holding back home price growth. 

“After dipping below 6% earlier this year, 30-year mortgage rates climbed back to 6.3% in April, keeping financing costs elevated,” he said. “In this higher-rate environment, home price growth remains constrained, with housing largely treading water in nominal terms and falling in real terms.”