Dallas-area home prices were up by almost 25% year-over-year in December in the latest nationwide comparison.   It was the second month in a row that Dallas home price gains were at the highest rate ever in the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index.   Dallas-area home prices have more than doubled in the last 10 years in Case-Shiller’s monthly cost measure. And median single-family home sales prices in North Texas this year hit a record $350,000.  Case-Shiller’s price estimate is considered more accurate than home sales data from real estate agents, which can be influenced by the type of properties that are selling each month.  The Case-Shiller index compares sales price changes of specific properties over time. “Since the start of the pandemic, house prices in the U.S. have been inflated by historically low interest rates, supply restrictions, which included a foreclosure moratorium, and increased savings for a down payment due to limited options for discretionary spending,” said Zillow senior economist Kwame Donaldson. “House price appreciation will continue to slow from this summer’s unsustainable levels, but these conditions ensure that growth will comfortably exceed normal rates over the next year.”

• Dallas Morning News, December 28, 2021