Case-Shiller's latest report shows house price inflation maintained a slow pace in October, continuing its downtrend. National home prices also continue to lag consumer inflation, the report said, while also noting the regional discrepancies in annual home price gains between the Midwest and Northeast metros vs. the broader housing conditions.

Sixteen of 20 markets declined month-over-month in October, signaling broad stagnation as high mortgage rates weigh on affordability and suppress price momentum, it said.

The 20-city home price index increased 0.4 percent on the month in October, seasonally adjusted, and the unadjusted annual rate of increase eased to 1.3 percent from September's 1.4 percent. The consensus was 1.1 percent for the year-on-year figure in October.

The national non-seasonally adjusted home price index showed a 0.3 percent gain in October from September, and a 1.4 percent annual increase up from +1.3 percent in September.

Chicago reported the highest annual gain with a 5.8% increase in October, followed by New York and Cleveland with annual increases of 5.0% and 4.1%, respectively. Tampa posted the lowest return in October, falling 4.2%.

The ongoing decline in housing prices must be pleasing to Federal Reserve officials in their anti-inflation fight, but the erosion of household wealth will continue to weaken consumer sentiment, underscoring the balance of risks to the U.S. economy.

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.