- The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 0.7% annual gain for February 2026, down from a 0.8% rise in the previous month.
- More than half of major U.S. metropolitan markets posted year-over-year price declines in February, with Denver (-2.2%) displacing Tampa as the weakest market and Los Angeles and Washington joining the list of decliners.
- For the ninth consecutive month, inflation outpaced national home price appreciation. CPI ran 1.7 percentage points above the 0.7% annual gain, extending the streak of negative real home price returns.
NEW YORK, APRIL 28, 2026: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the February 2026 results for the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Indices.
More than 27 years of history are available for the data series and can be accessed in full by going to www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/index-family/indicators/sp-Cotality-case-shiller.
Cotality continues to have transaction delays from the recording office in Wayne County, the most populous county in the Detroit metro area. These delays impacted the February transaction data and, therefore, no valid February 2026 update of the Detroit S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index will be provided for the April 28, 2026, release date. There was, however, enough data to calculate a valid January 2026 update, which is provided in Tables 2 and 3.
S&P DJI will continue to provide updates to the Detroit index values for the month(s) with missing sale transactions data.
ANALYSIS
"More than half of major U.S. metropolitan markets posted year-over-year price declines in February, signaling that the housing slowdown has broadened well beyond its Sun Belt origins," said Nicholas Godec, CFA, CAIA, CIPM, Head of Fixed Income Tradables & Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. "The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index rose just 0.7% year over year in February, down from 0.8% in January. With consumer inflation at 2.4%, U.S. home values have lost ground in real terms for nine consecutive months.
"The geographic mix has shifted meaningfully," Godec continued. "Mountain West (Denver -2.2%) and Pacific Northwest (Seattle -2.0%) markets now sit alongside Sun Belt decliners Tampa (-2.1%), Phoenix (-1.8%), and Dallas (-1.7%). Los Angeles (-0.8%) and Washington (-0.1%) joined the list of decliners, while Tampa's decline narrowed for a fourth consecutive month and Denver displaced it as the weakest market in the index.
"Leadership remains concentrated in Midwest and Northeast markets. Chicago led all metros at 5.0% annual growth, followed by New York (4.7%) and Cleveland (4.2%) — the same trio that has anchored this cycle's leadership. The 7.2 percentage point spread between Chicago and Denver illustrates how localized the housing story has become.
"Monthly data offered a modest seasonal lift without underlying momentum," Godec concluded. "The National Index rose 0.3% before seasonal adjustment, but after adjustment the National and 10-City Composites were essentially flat at 0.1% and the 20-City Composite slipped 0.1%. The H1/H2 split reinforces the picture: a 1.5% gain over the first six months of the trailing 12 gave way to a 0.8% decline over the most recent six. Mortgage rates near 6% continue to weigh on affordability and transaction activity, holding nominal price growth below inflation."
YEAR-OVER-YEAR
The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 0.7% annual gain for February. The 10-City Composite saw an annual increase of 1.5%, down from a 1.7% increase in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a year-over-year increase of 0.9%, down from a 1.2% rise in the previous month.
Chicago reported the highest annual gain among the 20 cities with a 5.0% increase in February, followed by New York and Cleveland with annual increases of 4.7% and 4.2%, respectively. Denver posted the lowest return in February, falling 2.2%.
MONTH-OVER-MONTH
The pre-seasonally adjusted U.S. National, 10-City Composite, and 20-City Composite Indices recorded annual gains of 0.3%, 0.6%, and 0.4%, respectively.
After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National and 10-City Composite Indices reported a monthly increase of 0.1%. In contrast, the 20-City Composite Index had a decrease of 0.05%.
SUPPORTING DATA
The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 0.7% annual increase in February 2026. The 10-City and 20-City Composites reported year-over-year increases of 1.5% and 0.9%, respectively.
