SANTA ANA, Calif. — U.S. home price growth continued to cool in November as buyers and lenders adapted to a “new normal” of higher mortgage rates and strained affordability, according to the latest Home Price Index from First American Data & Analytics.
The firm said its nonseasonally adjusted index showed national home prices slipped 0.2% from October to November and rose 0.7% from a year earlier. It marked the fourth consecutive month of annual price growth below 1%. First American also revised September-to-October figures to show a 0.3% monthly decline.
“House price growth has stabilized in the low single digits as the market adjusts to a new normal for mortgage rates and a constrained affordability environment,” Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American, said in a statement.
Fleming said the current housing market is defined by minimal price appreciation and, in some regions, outright declines. Slower price growth is offering buyers limited near-term relief, he said, and affordability could continue to improve gradually as wage growth outpaces home price gains.
In an earlier 2025 outlook, First American projected that affordability would improve by only a modest 2% by the end of the year, even if mortgage rates ease and price growth continues to moderate.
Regional divide widens
November data highlighted a growing split between more affordable Rust Belt markets and previously fast-growing Sun Belt metros, according to the company.
“Where the home is matters, as local market performance varies widely,” Fleming said. Among the top 30 markets tracked by First American, markets with year-over-year price declines outnumbered those posting gains.
Markets in the Midwest and Northeast where homes remain relatively affordable, including Pittsburgh and St. Louis, showed greater price resilience, Fleming said. In contrast, higher inventory levels and stretched household budgets contributed to falling prices in less affordable markets such as Miami and Denver.
Pittsburgh Leads Price Gains
First American reported Pittsburgh led annual price gains among major markets, with prices up 6.9%, followed by Warren, Mich., at 5.4%. Newark rose 3.6%, New York gained 3.3% and St. Louis increased 2.8%.
Oakland recorded the steepest annual decline, down 6.9%. Miami, Denver, Phoenix and Tampa also posted year-over-year price drops.
Starter-tier homes showed particular strength in some Rust Belt metros. In Pittsburgh, entry-level home prices climbed 12.5% from a year earlier, far outpacing growth in the luxury segment.
The pattern is consistent with earlier First American findings that national home price appreciation remains near its slowest pace since 2012 as affordability pressures weigh on rate-sensitive starter and midtier buyers.
