Mortgage Rates Recover Somewhat

Home price appreciation remained subdued in April, as the latest data from both FHFA and the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Indices continued to point to a housing market with little overall momentum. While annual price growth improved modestly from the prior month in both reports, elevated mortgage rates and ongoing affordability challenges continued to keep appreciation well below historical norms. FHFA reported that U.S. house prices declined 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in April, marking the first monthly decline since last summer. March's gain was also revised higher to 0.2% . Despite the monthly pullback, national home prices were still 2.0% higher than one year earlier, a slight improvement from March's annual pace. Regional results remained h