Slower price growth offers relief for buyers, especially existing homeowners with significant equity gains, 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, released its August 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.
Highlights
- Annual house price appreciation is at the slowest rate since February 2012.
- House price growth reported in last month’s HPI for June 2025 to July 2025 was revised down by 0.1 percentage points, from -0.2 percent to -0.3 percent.
“House price growth nationally slowed further in August, dropping to the slowest pace since 2012 and signaling a shift toward a more balanced market after the rapid price acceleration during the pandemic,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American. “For prospective buyers, this slowdown offers a welcome breather as incomes outpace house price growth and mortgage rates ease to their lowest level of the year. At the same time, homeowners still have record levels of equity—cumulative price appreciation since early 2020 is still up 56 percent. The result is more opportunities for buyers to get in the market, especially existing homeowners looking to tap their significant equity gains.”
August 2025 Local Market Price Tier Highlights
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.
“Affordability constraints are shaping price dynamics across market segments,” said Fleming. “When averaging across the top 30 markets we track, annual price growth has been softest in the starter-home tier, while the luxury segment has outperformed. In an environment where higher mortgage rates weigh heavily on first-time buyers, luxury buyers—often less affected by the rate ‘lock-in’ effect because they can pay in cash or leverage equity from a previous home sale—are driving stronger appreciation at the top end of the market.”
| August 2025 First American Data & Analytics Price Tier HPI Highlights | |||
| Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) Ranked by Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in Luxury Tier HPI | |||
| CBSA | Change in Starter Tier HPI | Change in Mid-Tier HPI | Change in Luxury Tier HPI |
| New York | +1.2 percent | +3.1 percent | +12.5 percent |
| St. Louis | +6.5 percent | +3.3 percent | +6.4 percent |
| Cincinnati | +0.0 percent | +4.4 percent | +4.5 percent |
| Warren, Mich. | +0.9 percent | +3.7 percent | +4.3 percent |
| Cambridge, Mass. | +2.9 percent | +3.4 percent | +4.1 percent |
| Additional August 2025 First American Data & Analytics HPI Highlights | |
| Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) with Greatest Year-Over-Year Increases in HPI | |
| CBSA | Change in HPI |
| New York | +5.2 percent |
| St. Louis | +4.4 percent |
| Pittsburgh | +3.3 percent |
| Cambridge, Mass. | +3.3 percent |
| Warren, Mich. | +3.0 percent |
| Core-Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) with a Year-Over-Year Decrease in HPI | |
| Oakland, Calif. | -6.9 percent |
| Tampa, Fla. | -5.9 percent |
| Austin, Texas | -3.9 percent |
| Phoenix | -3.8 percent |
| Sacramento, Calif. | -2.9 percent |
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.
Contacts
Media Contact:
Marcus Ginnaty
Corporate Communications
First American Financial Corporation
(714) 250-3298
