WASHINGTON, DC – Home price growth in the second quarter was stronger than previously anticipated but will likely moderate soon, closing 2024 and 2025 at annual rates of 6.1% and 3.0%, respectively, according to the July 2024 commentary from the Fannie Mae Research Group (ESR). Despite a more than 30% increase in listings of homes available for sale compared to a year ago, certain indicators of housing activity remain soft. This dynamic of gradually increasing supply and affordability-constrained demand is expected to cause home prices to moderate going forward. …This contributed to the ESR Group revising downward its starts and new home sales forecasts; notably, however, it revised upward its existing home sales forecast due to a modestly lower mortgage rate path. …The ESR Group downwardly revised its inflation forecasts and now expects the CPI to end the year at 2.9% [and] now expects the Federal Reserve to cut rates in both September and December.