From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON – U.S. home prices surged again in October as the housing market continues to boom in the wake of last year’s coronavirus recession.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, out Tuesday, climbed 18.4% in October from a year earlier.

The gain marked a slight deceleration from a 19.1% year-over-year increase in September but was about in line with what economists had been expecting.

All 20 cities posted double-digit annual gains. The hottest markets were Phoenix (up 32.3%), Tampa (28.1%) and Miami (25.7%).

Minneapolis and Chicago posted the smallest increases, 11.5% each.

Spokane has gained an influx of remote workers from larger West Coast metros – like San Francisco and Seattle – during the pandemic.

The addition of remote workers and out-of-area buyers has contributed to Spokane’s growing housing demand, rising prices and dwindling inventory.

Realtor.com named Spokane the third-hottest housing market in the country for 2022 based on competition for homes, and price and sales growth.

Realtor.com projects Salt Lake City and Boise to be the first and second hottest markets, respectively, in 2022.

Spokane County’s median closed home price was $375,000 in November, a 21.2% increase compared with the $309,500 median price in November 2020, according to data from the Spokane Association of Realtors. December housing data has not yet been released.

Spokane Association of Realtors Executive Officer Rob Higgins anticipates in-migration of remote workers to the Lilac City will persist into next year.

“I think the demand will still be there for people trying to get out of congested areas with remote work and prices somewhat lower (in Spokane) than what they are experiencing in major cities,” Higgins said.

Nationally, the housing market has been strong thanks to rock-bottom mortgage rates, a limited supply of homes on the market, and pent-up demand from consumers locked in last year by the pandemic.

Many Americans, tired of being cooped up at home during the pandemic, are looking to trade up from apartments to homes or to bigger houses.

“Home price growth will slow further in the year ahead, but continue to go up,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “As housing costs eat up a larger share of home purchaser’s paychecks, buyers will get creative.

“Many will take advantage of ongoing workplace flexibility to move to the suburbs where despite home price gains, many can still find a lower price per square foot than nearby cities.”

It remains unclear if that shift is permanent or an aberration, said Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“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,’’ Lazzara said.

“More data will be required to understand whether this demand surge represents an acceleration of purchases that would have occurred over the next several years, or reflects a more permanent secular change.’’

Last week, mortgage rates fell – to 3.05% for the benchmark 30-year, fixed-rate and 2.66% for the 15-year fixed-rate home loan.

The persistently low rates signal that credit markets appear more concerned about the omicron variant depressing economic growth than about the highest inflation rates in nearly 40 years.

The National Association of Realtors reported last week that sales of previously occupied homes rose for the third straight month in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.46 million.