Real Home Prices (Inflation-Adjusted Case-Shiller)
Real home prices are the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index divided by the Consumer Price Index — i.e. nominal home prices stripped of general inflation, rebased to 100 in January 2000. Where the nominal index always drifts up with the dollar, the real index answers the harder question: are homes getting more expensive faster than everything else? It is the modern, monthly version of the famous long-run Shiller housing chart, covering the 1987-onward Case-Shiller era.
Real home price index (Jan 2000=100)
- Real YoY
- -2.8%
- Vs full history
- 168.891st pctile
Next release: Aug 25, 2026
Latest reading
As of May 2026, real (inflation-adjusted) US home prices index at 168.8 — 4.6% below the May 2022 record of 176.9. As of May 2026, Real Home Prices (Real home price index (Jan 2000=100)) stands at 168.8 — up from 168.8 the prior reading. The level is a valuation read: above its long-run average means housing is expensive relative to the broader cost of living. The two clear peaks are the 2006 housing bubble and the 2022 post-pandemic surge — the highest real level on record — and the deep trough is the 2007-2012 crash. Because it is inflation-adjusted, a flat real line during high inflation means nominal prices are merely keeping pace with the dollar, not actually appreciating. As with nominal Case-Shiller, expect a two-month reporting lag and seasonal noise in the NSA data, so read the trend and discount any single print. "Bubble" here describes past extremes and forecasts nothing. Series history runs from 1987 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessLast updated 2026-08-21 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Real index
Real year-over-year %
Inflation-adjusted home-price appreciation. Shaded zones split real gains (green, above 0%) from real declines (red, below 0%) — prices losing ground to inflation show up as red even when nominal prices rise.
Methodology & data
Real Home Prices is sourced from S&P CoreLogic / BLS via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index (CSUSHPINSA) deflated by CPI-U (CPIAUCNS), rebased to Jan 2000 = 100; both via FRED, monthly, not seasonally adjusted). We pull the complete history, chart it on a monthly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date, last updated 2026-08-21. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Real Home Prices (Inflation-Adjusted Case-Shiller)?
Real home prices are the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index divided by the Consumer Price Index — i.e. nominal home prices stripped of general inflation, rebased to 100 in January 2000. Where the nominal index always drifts up with the dollar, the real index answers the harder question: are homes getting more expensive faster than everything else? It is the modern, monthly version of the famous long-run Shiller housing chart, covering the 1987-onward Case-Shiller era.
How do you read Real Home Prices?
The level is a valuation read: above its long-run average means housing is expensive relative to the broader cost of living. The two clear peaks are the 2006 housing bubble and the 2022 post-pandemic surge — the highest real level on record — and the deep trough is the 2007-2012 crash. Because it is inflation-adjusted, a flat real line during high inflation means nominal prices are merely keeping pace with the dollar, not actually appreciating. As with nominal Case-Shiller, expect a two-month reporting lag and seasonal noise in the NSA data, so read the trend and discount any single print. "Bubble" here describes past extremes and forecasts nothing.
Where does the Real Home Prices data come from?
S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index (CSUSHPINSA) deflated by CPI-U (CPIAUCNS), rebased to Jan 2000 = 100; both via FRED, monthly, not seasonally adjusted. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/real-home-prices.csv.
How often is Real Home Prices updated?
Real Home Prices is a monthly series from S&P CoreLogic / BLS, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Real home price index (Jan 2000=100)
- Real YoY
- -2.8%
- Vs full history
- 168.891st pctile
Next release: Aug 25, 2026