NEW YORK – One of the most-watched indicators of home prices, the S&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI), found a slight slowdown in the national rate of home price increases – but less so in Florida. Two state metro areas, Tampa and Miami, ranked second and third for year-to-year price increases, with Phoenix topping the list.

“For the past several months, home prices have been rising at a very high – but decelerating – rate,” says Craig J. Lazzara, Managing Director at S&P DJI. “That trend continued in November 2021.”

Overall, the National Composite Index rose 18.8% year-to-year, but that rate is less than it was the month before (19.0%).

“Despite this deceleration, it’s important to remember that November’s 18.8% gain was the sixth-highest reading in the 34 years covered by our data,” says Lazzara. The top five months for price growth were the ones immediately preceding November.

Phoenix, Tampa and Miami reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20-city index in November. Phoenix led the way with a 32.2% year-over-year price increase, followed by Tampa with a 29.0% increase and Miami with a 26.6% increase.

“Tampa and Miami continued in second and third place in November, narrowly edging out Las Vegas, Dallas and San Diego,” says Lazzara. “Prices were strongest in the South and Southeast (both up 25.0%), but every region continued to log impressive gains.”

Prices in 19 cities are at all-time highs, and Phoenix’s increase led all cities for the 30th consecutive month.

“We have previously suggested that the strength in the U.S. housing market is being driven in part by a change in locational preferences as households react to the COVID pandemic,” says Lazzara, but it’s too soon to gauge whether it’s a temporary change or one that might have occurred naturally over the next several years.

“In the short term, meanwhile, we should soon begin to see the impact of increasing mortgage rates on home prices,” Lazzara says.

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