Real Estate

U.S. Home Prices Rise 2.1% in August as New-Home Sales Slip to a 676,000 Pace in September

Case-Shiller and FHFA indexes showed modest annual U.S. home-price gains in August, while Census data put September new-home sales at a 676,000 annual rate, down 0.6% from August.

Oct 27, 2026 - 12:17

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Three U.S. housing reports released on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, described a market in which prices are still rising modestly in nominal terms while sales of newly built homes remain below last year's pace. The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller indexes and the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index both showed annual gains in August, and the Census Bureau reported that new-home sales edged lower in September.

Case-Shiller: national gain picks up to 2.1%

The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index rose 2.1% in the 12 months through August, up from a 1.9% annual rise in July, S&P Dow Jones Indices said. The 10-City Composite gained 3.6% year over year, up from 3.4%, and the 20-City Composite rose 2.7%, up from 2.5%.

S&P Dow Jones Indices said home values fell in real terms for the 15th consecutive month, because consumer prices rose 3.4% over the same period, about 1.3 percentage points more than the national home-price gain. "U.S. home prices declined in real terms for the 15th consecutive month in August 2026, though the gap narrowed as nominal home price growth strengthened," said Rebecca Kaufman, associate director of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

On a monthly basis, seasonal patterns pulled the unadjusted figures lower. Before seasonal adjustment, the National Index fell 0.2% from July, and the 10-City and 20-City Composites each declined 0.4%. After seasonal adjustment, the National, 10-City and 20-City indexes rose 0.3%, 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively.

Wide gaps between metro areas

Chicago led the 20 tracked cities for the sixth consecutive month with a 6.7% annual gain, followed by New York at 6.2% and Cleveland at 4.3%. Seattle posted the largest annual decline for a third straight month, falling 2.0%, followed by Las Vegas at minus 1.3% and Denver at minus 0.8%. The release said nearly 9 percentage points separated the strongest and weakest markets.

No August figure was published for Detroit. S&P Dow Jones Indices said Cotality continues to face transaction-recording delays in Wayne County, the most populous county in the Detroit area, though there was enough data to publish a July update for the metro.

Kaufman also pointed to affordability pressures, saying that "with inflation at 3.4%, Brent crude near $100 per barrel and mortgage rates in the mid-to-high 6% range, households continue to face elevated costs alongside persistently high home prices."

FHFA index up 2.4% from a year earlier

The FHFA House Price Index, which is based on seasonally adjusted, purchase-only data from mortgages backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, rose 0.3% in August from July and 2.4% from August 2025. The agency revised July's previously reported 0.3% monthly increase down to 0.2%.

Across the nine census divisions, monthly changes ranged from a 0.8% decline in New England to a 2.1% increase in the East South Central division. Annual changes ranged from a 0.5% gain in the Mountain division to a 4.4% gain in the East North Central division, the region that includes Chicago and Cleveland. FHFA said its next report, due November 24, 2026, will include monthly data through September and quarterly data through the third quarter.

New-home sales ease to a 676,000 annual rate

Sales of new single-family houses ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 in September, according to estimates released jointly by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That was 0.6% below the revised August rate of 680,000 and 5.3% below the September 2025 rate of 714,000. The Census Bureau noted that both changes fall within the survey's margin of error, meaning the data do not establish with statistical confidence whether sales rose or fell.

Regionally, the seasonally adjusted figures showed sales up 28.0% from August in the Northeast and 21.4% in the West, while the Midwest fell 7.3% and the South, the largest region, fell 6.6%.

The median sales price of a new house sold in September was $400,400, up 3.9% from August's $385,400 but 3.9% below the $416,800 recorded a year earlier. The average sales price was $472,800.

The seasonally adjusted number of new homes for sale at the end of September was 476,000, down 1.0% from August, equal to 8.4 months of supply at the current sales pace. The National Association of Home Builders said 111,000 of those homes were completed and ready to occupy.

Builders cite affordability

"Affordability remains a significant hurdle for prospective home buyers," said Bill Owens, chairman of the NAHB. "Builders continue to offer incentives and adjust pricing to attract buyers, but elevated mortgage rates and high home prices are limiting the number of households that can afford to purchase a home."

The trade group said that on a year-to-date basis, new-home sales were down 0.5% in the Midwest, 1.3% in the South and 9.2% in the West, and up 2.3% in the Northeast.

The reports arrived as the Federal Reserve began a two-day policy meeting that concludes on Wednesday, October 28. The Census Bureau's next new residential sales report, covering October, is scheduled for November 25, 2026.