U.S. housing market showing signs of volatility

June 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. housing market is topsy-turvy, data published Tuesday show, with prices up for the third month in a row to April, but down from the same period last year.

Broader markets are dealing with something of a competing narrative after the Federal Reserve opted to stand pat on its lending rates while at the same time pointing to at least two more increases later this year. Inflation remains well above the Fed's target rate, but there are emerging signs that rate policy is cooling the economy as planned.

Housing is a key gauge of the health of the economy. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Schiller Indices for U.S. home prices showed month-on-month increases in 12 of the 20 major metropolitan markets that it watches.

"The U.S. housing market continued to strengthen in April 2023," said Craig J. Lazzara, a managing director at S&P. "Home prices peaked in June 2022, declined until January 2023, and then began to recover."

Data provided last week by the National Association of Realtors showed similar trends in volatility, with markets in the Northeast and Midwest seeing headwinds, while improvements were apparent in the southern and western states.

NAR Chief Economist Lawrence YunYun said newly constructed homes are moving quickly in part because of a bloated inventory, while existing-home sales are on the decline because supplies are about half what they were in 2019, before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

S&P, meanwhile, found that on a trailing 12-month basis, prices are nonetheless 0.2% below year-ago levels.

Mortgage rates too are mixed. The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, commonly known as Freddie Mac, put the rate on a 30-year, fixed-term mortgage at 6.69% as of June. That's down from the prior week's rate of 6.71%, but well above the 5.78% from the similar period last year.

The rate on a 30-year, fixed rate mortgage flirted with 7% in May.