Growth in Case-Shiller's 20-city adjusted index held steady in December, at 0.2 percent on the month to match November's upwardly revised gain. Though modest, December's gain was nevertheless enough to lift year-over-year growth to 6.1 percent for the strongest result since November 2022.

Of the 20 cities, San Diego posted the strongest annual gain in December at 8.8 percent followed by Los Angeles and Detroit, both at 8.3 percent. Portland brought up the rear at only a 0.3 percent gain that, however, followed 11 staight months of annual contraction. The gain for rustbelt hub Detroit is notable, helping the Midwest to match the Northeast with regional appreciation of 6.7 percent.

The report notes that gains in 2023, though below those of the two prior years,"should be well received" given the year's high financing costs which especially held back results during the fourth quarter.

Forecasters see the adjusted 20-city monthly rate rising 0.2 percent in December versus November's smaller-than-expected 0.1 percent increase that, however, wasn't enough to hold down unadjusted annual growth which rose from 4.9 to 5.4 percent. December's consensus for the latter is a further jump to 6.0 percent.

The S&P Corelogic Case-Shiller home price index tracks monthly changes in the value of residential real estate in 20 metropolitan regions across the nation. Composite indexes and regional indexes measure changes in existing home prices and are based on single-family home resales. Condominiums and co-ops are excluded as is new construction. Note that forecasters, in line with recommendations from Standard & Poor's questioning the accuracy of seasonal adjustments, track both seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted monthly data for this indicator.

Home values affect much in the economy - especially the housing and consumer sectors. Periods of rising home values encourage new construction while periods of soft home prices can dampen housing starts. Changes in home values, and the ability to draw upon expanding lines of home equity loans, play key roles in consumer spending and in consumer financial health.

Beginning with the onset of the subprime credit crunch in mid-2007 and with it a downturn in home prices, the ability of borrowers to refinance their debt into affordable fixed rate mortgages was sharply constrained. This in turn limited aggregate consumer spending and contributed to the depth of the Great Recession. From their peak in late 2006 and early 2007 to their nadir in mid-2012, Case-Shiller's home price indexes fell nearly 50 percent. The subsequent recovery proved slow but steady with the indexes finally surpassing their prior highs in early 2018.