The pace of home price increases continues to slow, according to a new quarterly report from Fannie Mae. The report found price increases slower during the first quarter of 2023 than they were at the end of last year. In fact, Fannie Mae's Home Price Index found home prices up 4.7 percent during the first quarter. That follows an 8.6 percent increase during the final quarter of 2022. Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae's senior vice president and chief economist, says the fact that prices are still rising is evidence of pent-up demand. “As expected, the annual rate of increase in home prices has slowed dramatically in response to the rapid and significant increase in interest rates,” Duncan says. “Still, the fact that prices rose slightly in the first quarter is evidence of significant pent-up mortgage demand, despite ongoing affordability constraints.” Duncan says the inventory of homes for sale remains lower than normal and that has helped keep price increases from slowing even further.
