S&P Cotality Case-Shiller: November Home Prices Stay Flat As Sales Stall

The housing market remained in hibernation in November. With buyers unable to meet sellers’ expectations, most participants are opting to wait until spring. Annual growth remained flat at 1.4% in November, according to the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Index.

Month-over-month, the non-seasonally adjusted index dipped 0.1% (Figure 2), placing it 0.2% below pre-pandemic averages. If December’s figures mirror recent declines, 2025 will conclude with the lowest rate of price growth recorded since the Great Recession aftermath in 2011.

FIGURE 2

“The housing market is stuck in neutral,” said Thom Malone, Principal Economist at Cotality. “Buyers and sellers are at an impasse; record unaffordability means buyers can’t meet the prices sellers need to preserve their equity or move laterally. While the Southern markets show the most significant cracks, the stagnation is nationwide.”

In November, 13 of the 20 metros in the 20-City Index saw year-over-year growth accelerate compared with September (Figure 3). Chicago, New York, and Cleveland led the gains with 5.7%, 5.0%, and 3.4%, Meanwhile, nine metros posted annual declines led by Tampa’s -3.9% slide—a drop that continues to outpace the rest of the index by a wide margin.

FIGURE 3

Monthly growth trailed averages in 15 of 20 metros as a surge in Western and Sun Belt listings slowed price growth. While this pressure led to Boston’s -0.5% dip, San Diego stood out. It resisted the regional cooling with a historic inventory shortage, carving out an index-leading +0.5% gain and proving local scarcity can still override national trends (Figure 4).

FIGURE 4

Price declines were steeper among low and mid priced homes, which averaged -0.4% and -0.3% respectively. High priced homes declined 0.1% (Figure 5). Currently, no submarket within the 20-city composite index shows signs of strong or sustained appreciation.

FIGURE 5

Inventory levels and days on market remain elevated as pending sales have stalled— a signal that the market is pausing while the broader economy catches up. While the duration of this stasis is unclear, the path forward will likely be gradual absent a significant external shock. As personal circumstances eventually necessitate sales and economic growth continues, buyer and seller expectations will inevitably realign. However, if historical patterns hold, buyers will likely concede the most ground in this standoff.