Home Prices Continue Their Ascension

Home prices are showing no signs of falling, according to the latest data from the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index recorded a 5.2 percent annual gain in March, down from 5.3 percent the previous month, while the 10-City Composite and 20-City Composites’ year-over-year gains were unchanged at 4.7 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively, from the prior month.

Before a seasonal adjustment, the National Index posted a month-over-month gain of 0.7 percent in March, while the 10-City Composite recorded a 0.8% month-over-month increase and the 20-City Composite posted a 0.9 percent increase in March. After seasonal adjustment, the National Index recorded a 0.1 percent month-over-month increase, the 10-City Composite posted a 0.8 percent increase, and the 20-City Composite reported a 0.9 percent month-over-month increase.

The cities with the year-over-year gains in annual price increases were Portland (12.3 percent), Seattle (10.8 percent) and Denver (10 percent).

“Home prices are continuing to rise at a five percent annual rate, a pace that has held since the start of 2015,” says David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates. Another factor behind rising home prices is the limited supply of homes on the market. The number of homes currently on the market is less than two percent of the number of households in the U.S., the lowest percentage seen since the mid-1980s.”