By now, just about everyone knows home prices rose in 2021. Even if you weren't shopping for a home last year, you probably came across a headline or news story covering the accelerated pace of price increases. What you may not know, though, is just how high they climbed. New numbers from the S&P Case-Shiller Home Price Indices give us a better idea. According to their most recent release, prices nationwide posted an 18.8 percent increase last year. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P, says it was the highest in decades. “For the year, the National Composite Index recorded a gain of 18.8 percent,” Lazzara said. “This is the highest calendar year increase in 34 years of data, and substantially ahead of 2020's 10.4 percent gain.” Fortunately, though 2021 was a record-breaking year for home values, this year's outlook calls for a much slower rate of increase, as most experts believe the market will begin to balance and price increases will slow considerably.
