- The S&P Cotality Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index posted a 1.1% annual gain for May 2026, up from a 0.9% rise in the previous month.
- For the 12th consecutive month, U.S. home values fell in real terms, as May’s 4.2% inflation ran roughly 3 percentage points above the 1.1% home price gain.
- A nearly 9 percentage-point gap separated May’s strongest market (Chicago +6.9% YoY) and its weakest (Las Vegas -1.9% YoY), underscoring a stark regional divergence in home price trends.
NEW YORK, JULY 28, 2026: S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) today released the May 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 May transaction data and, therefore, no valid May 2026 update of the Detroit S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index will be provided for the July 28, 2026, release date. There was, however, enough data to calculate a valid April 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
“May’s data suggests that U.S. home prices continue to decline in real terms, with the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller National Home Price Index up a modest 1.1% year over year,” said Rebecca Kaufman, Associate Director of Commodities at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “At the same time, inflation peaked at 4.2% in May, its highest level in over three years. Even on a nominal basis, the market remains noticeably weaker than a year ago. In May 2025, the National Home Price Index was up 2.4% year over year.
“The geographic dispersion of home price trends continues to persist,” Kaufman continued. “While major metropolitan areas in the Northeast and Midwest recorded year-over-year gains exceeding the national average, many metropolitan areas in the West and Sunbelt regions remain under pressure.
“For the third consecutive month, Chicago led all metros with a 6.9% annual increase in May, followed by New York (4.2%) and Cleveland (3.1%). In contrast, Las Vegas posted the largest decline, falling 1.9% year over year, with Seattle (-1.8%), Denver (-1.8%), and Tampa (-1.6%) also registering notable losses.
“This divergence may reflect shifting post-pandemic housing dynamics, including a growing return-to-office mandate that appears to be supporting traditional urban markets.
“Monthly price appreciation continues to reflect the seasonal strength often associated with the spring homebuying season,” Kaufman observed. “On a non-seasonally adjusted (NSA) basis, the National Index rose 0.6% in May from April, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites each advanced 0.9%.
“After adjusting for seasonality, the National Index declined 0.05% month over month, while the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted modest gains of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively. The gap between the NSA and seasonally adjusted results underscores the extent to which seasonal factors are supporting headline price growth. Even where prices increased on a seasonally adjusted basis, gains remained modest and were negative in real terms.
“Affordability remains a significant headwind for the housing market,” Kaufman concluded. “Thirty-year mortgage rates increased to 6.5% in May, leaving the ultra-low 3% borrowing costs a distant memory. At the same time, stubbornly high inflation rates are keeping both the cost of home financing and the cost of living high for prospective buyers.
“Against this backdrop, housing demand remains constrained, elevated borrowing costs continue to discourage potential homebuyers, and housing values decline in real terms for existing homeowners.”
MONTH-OVER-MONTH
The pre-seasonally adjusted 10-City Composite and 20-City Composite Indices recorded monthly gains of 0.9%, while the U.S. National Index posted a 0.6% gain.
After seasonal adjustment, the U.S. National reported a monthly decrease of 0.05% while the 10-City and 20-City Composite Indices posted 0.3% and 0.1% gains, respectively.
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 1.1% annual increase in May 2026. The 10-City and 20-City Composites reported year-over-year increases of 2.4% and 1.6%, respectively.
Table 1 below shows the housing boom/bust peaks and troughs for the three composites along with the current levels and percentage changes from the peaks and troughs.
