July Home Price Growth Accelerates Annually, But Down in Real Terms, S&P Says

01:32 PM EDT, 09/29/2026 (MT Newswires) -- US home price growth accelerated annually in July, though values were down in real terms for a 14th straight month as inflation continued to outpace price gains, S&P Global (SPGI) division S&P Dow Jones Indices said Tuesday. The national S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index increased 1.9% year over year in July without seasonal adjustments, up from a 1.6% rise the month prior. The 10- and 20-city composites rose 3.4% and 2.5%, respectively, compared with June's growth rates of 3% and 2.2%. July's inflation rate of 3.4% was about 1.5 percentage points above the home price increase, according to the data provider. "While home prices continued to decline in real terms in July 2026, marking the 14th consecutive month of real declines, slightly lower inflation and stronger nominal home price appreciation helped narrow the gap," Rebecca Kaufman, associate director of commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said. Consumer prices were "down slightly from 3.5% in June," according to Kaufman. Much of July's inflation was concentrated in energy, with energy and gasoline prices up nearly 15% and 25% year over year, respectively, Kaufman said. "By contrast, core inflation -- which excludes food and energy -- rose only 2.5% year over year," Kaufman wrote. "This distinction is important because persistent inflation in shelter and other core categories tends to have a more direct impact on housing affordability than energy-driven price fluctuations." Last week, Redfin said the pace of home price growth decelerated sequentially in the quarter through August as buyers gained more bargaining power than before, while the annual rate of price increases was the fastest in a year. Separately, Oxford Economics said rising mortgage rates will likely test the housing market ahead. Earlier this month, homebuilder KB Home (KBH) cut its full-year housing gross profit margin estimates amid weaker market conditions and affordability pressures. Rival Lennar (LEN) reported weaker-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results as affordability challenges slowed home-buying activity. Chicago logged the highest annual gain in home prices for a fifth consecutive month among the 20 cities in July, up 6.9%, followed by New York and Cleveland. Seattle recorded the largest annual decline at 1.6%, the S&P data showed Tuesday. Separately, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said seasonally adjusted US home prices increased 0.3% sequentially in July, following a flat reading the previous month. Annually, prices rose 2.6% in July, according to the report. Price: 389.86, Change: -6.06, Percent Change: -1.53