November's US Home Prices Rise at Highest Rate Since 1976
Price appreciation was strongest in Arizona and other fast-growing states.
National home prices increased 18.1% year over year in November 2021, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI) Report.
The November 2021 HPI gain was up from the November 2020 gain of 8.1% and was the highest 12-month growth in the US index since the series began in 1976.
The increase in home prices was fueled by low mortgage rates, low for-sale supply and an influx in home buying activity from investors. Projected increases in for-sale supply and moderation in demand as prices grow out of reach for some buyers could slow home price gains over the next 12 months.
While all states showed annual increases in HPI in November, appreciation was strongest in Arizona, with appreciation of 28.6%, followed by Florida (+25.8%) and Idaho (+25.5%).
At the low end, Washington, D.C., saw home prices increase 4.2%, and home prices in Alaska increased 7.5%. Population growth in some states added to home buying demand in 2021, pushing up home prices. Arizona, Florida, Idaho and Nevada were all in the top 10 for percentage increase in population growth in 2021.
Biggest Pop in Lowest-Priced Tier
CoreLogic analyzes four individual home-price tiers that are calculated relative to the median national home sale price. Home price growth remained at a high level for all four price tiers in November.
The lowest price tier increased 19.8% year over year in November 2021, compared with 19% for the low- to middle-price tier, 19.1% for the middle- to moderate-price tier, and 18.6% for the high-price tier.
Appreciation for detached properties (19.4%) was 1.4 times that of attached properties (13.6%) in November. The gap in HPI growth between detached and attached properties widened after the pandemic began as remote work allowed many employees to buy homes further from their office and in areas where property prices and population density are lower and detached housing is more common. This gap has narrowed since the spring of 2021 and in November was the smallest in 10 months.