National Housing Market Returning to Reality as Price Growth Cools Further in July

—Rising inventory and buyer hesitation tempers price growth, says Chief Economist Mark Fleming—

First American Data & Analytics, a leading national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions and a division of First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF), today released its July 2025 Home Price Index (HPI) report. The report tracks home price changes less than four weeks behind real time at the national, state and metropolitan (Core-Based Statistical Area) levels and includes metropolitan price tiers that segment sale transactions into starter, mid and luxury tiers. The full report can be found here.

Chief Economist National HPI Analysis:

“It’s back to reality for national house price appreciation, as limited affordability, economic uncertainty and homeowners unwilling to enter the market and give up their low mortgage rates hinder demand amid a growing inventory of listings,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “This supply-demand dynamic slowed annual home price growth nationally for the eighth straight month in July. National prices are now just 0.3 percent from their recent peak in May. A window has opened for incomes to outpace price growth and affordability to improve, a positive for buyers looking for an opportunity. Overall, it’s a reflection of a steadily cooling housing market, following the white-hot pandemic-era market fueled by record-low mortgage rates.”

Year-Over-Year Price-Tier Data for the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale Metro Area: July 2024 to July 2025

The First American Data & Analytics HPI segments home price changes at the metropolitan level into three price tiers based on local market sales data: starter tier, which represents home sales prices at the bottom third of the market price distribution; mid-tier, which represents home sales prices in the middle third of the market price distribution; and the luxury tier, which represents home sales prices in the top third of the market price distribution.

“Regional divergence remains a defining feature of the housing market,” said Fleming. “Eight of the 10 metros with the strongest annual price growth are in the Northeast or Midwest, while the weakest performers are in the West and South. Whether a market is gradually shifting towards a buyer’s market or remains firmly in sellers’ market territory depends on which side of the local supply-demand tug-of-war is gaining momentum.”

HPI data for all 50 states and the largest 30 CBSAs by population is available here.

Visit the First American Economic Center for more research on housing market dynamics.

Next Release

The next release of the First American Data & Analytics House Price Index will take place the week of September 15, 2025.

First American Data & Analytics HPI Methodology

The First American Data & Analytics HPI report measures single-family home prices, including distressed sales, with indices updated monthly beginning in 1980 through the month of the current report. HPI data is provided at the national, state and CBSA levels and includes preliminary index estimates for the month prior to the report (i.e. the preliminary result of July transactions is reported in August). The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available.

The HPI uses a repeat-sales methodology, which measures price changes for the same property over time using more than 46 million paired transactions to generate the indices. In non-disclosure states, the HPI utilizes a combination of public sales records, MLS sold and active listings, and appraisal data to estimate house prices. This comprehensive approach is particularly effective in areas where there is limited availability of accurate sale prices, such as non-disclosure states. Property type, price and location data are used to create more refined market segment indices. Real Estate-Owned transactions are not included.

Disclaimer

Opinions, estimates, forecasts and other views contained in this page are those of First American’s Chief Economist, do not necessarily represent the views of First American or its management, should not be construed as indicating First American’s business prospects or expected results, and are subject to change without notice. Although the First American Economics team attempts to provide reliable, useful information, it does not guarantee that the information is accurate, current or suitable for any particular purpose. © 2025 by First American. Information from this page may be used with proper attribution.

About First American Data & Analytics

First American Data & Analytics, a division of First American Financial Corporation, is a national provider of property-centric information, risk management and valuation solutions. First American maintains and curates the industry’s largest property and ownership dataset that includes more than 8.6 billion document images. Its major platforms and products include: DataTree^®, FraudGuard^®, RegsData^®, First American TaxSource™ and ACI^®. Find out more about how First American Data & Analytics powers the real estate, mortgage and title settlement services industries with advanced decisioning solutions at www.FirstAmDNA.com.

About First American

First American Financial Corporation (NYSE: FAF) is a premier provider of title, settlement and risk solutions for real estate transactions. With its combination of financial strength and stability built over more than 135 years, innovative proprietary technologies, and unmatched data assets, the company is leading the digital transformation of its industry. First American also provides data products to the title industry and other third parties; valuation products and services; mortgage subservicing; home warranty products; banking, trust and wealth management services; and other related products and services. With total revenue of $6.1 billion in 2024, the company offers its products and services directly and through its agents throughout the United States and abroad. In 2025, First American was named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by Great Place to Work® and Fortune Magazine for the tenth consecutive year. The company was named one of the 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators by Fast Company for the second consecutive year in 2024. More information about the company can be found at www.firstam.com.

¹ The most recent index results are subject to revision as data from more transactions become available.

² Note: Nassau-County-Suffolk County, NY is excluded from this month’s report due to data disruptions. Cincinnati is included in this month’s report.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250814007007/en/

"A window has opened for incomes to outpace price growth and affordability to improve, a positive for buyers looking for an opportunity. Overall, it’s a reflection of a steadily cooling housing market, following the white-hot pandemic-era market."