By Kathleen Howley | Housing Wire
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller index of home prices in 20 U.S. cities gained 3.9% in July from a year ago, the biggest advance since 2018, as rock-bottom mortgage rates made it possible for people to bid higher for properties.
The increase was bigger than the 3.5% advance in the prior month, and it was the largest annual gain since December 2018.
Home-loan rates, measured as a weekly average by Freddie Mac, have set new lows nine times since March when the Federal Reserve began buying mortgage-backed securities to keep credit from freezing amid the worst pandemic in more than a century. The rate was 2.9% last week, Freddie Mac said on Thursday. It was the ninth consecutive week the rate was under 3%.
