The Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which is considered the “gold standard” for appreciation, showed home prices nationwide rose 0.5% from March to April after seasonal adjustment, marking the third consecutive month of gains. Prices were 0.2% lower when compared to April 2022, though this is partly because home prices rose much more sharply in the first half of 2022 than they have so far this year.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) also released their House Price Index, which revealed that home prices rose for the fourth straight month, up 0.7% from March to April. Prices also rose 3.1% from April 2022 to April 2023.

Note that FHFA’s report measures home price appreciation on single-family homes with conforming loan amounts, which means it most likely represents lower-priced homes. FHFA also does not include cash buyers or jumbo loans, and these factors account for some of the differences in the two reports.

What’s the bottom line? The uptick in appreciation over the last few months suggests we’re past the inflection point and home prices are on the rise again. “The U.S. housing market continued to strengthen in April 2023," confirmed S&P DJI Managing Director Craig J. Lazzara, who added that “the ongoing recovery in home prices is broadly based” with prices just 2.4% below their peak from June 2022. This is a far cry from the housing crash of 20% that some in the media have forecasted.