Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose at a faster pace than projected in the year through March, reflecting a limited number of available properties on the market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5 percent from March 2014 for a second month, the group said Tuesday in New York. The median estimate of 25 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 4.6 percent year-over-year advance. Nationally, prices rose 4.1 percent from March 2014.
Higher home prices along with lean inventory and limited income growth have tempered the recovery in residential real estate. More construction, particularly of cheaper properties, would help boost supply and bring purchases within reach of more Americans looking to take advantage of low borrowing costs.
“We’ve got an increase in demand at the same time supply has been pretty modest — that’s pushing prices up,” David Berson, chief economist at Nationwide Insurance in Columbus, Ohio, said before the report. “I think house-price gains will moderate, because we’ll start to see more people put houses on the market and more builders building more.”
Economists’ estimates in the Bloomberg survey ranged from gains of 4.3 percent to 5.4 percent. The S&P/Case-Shiller index is based on a three-month average, which means the March figure also was influenced by transactions in February and January.
Home prices in the 20-city index adjusted for seasonal variations increased 1 percent in March from the prior month, in line with the Bloomberg survey median of 0.9 percent.
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Dean Popplewell
He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets.
He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head
of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean
has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class
for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best
serve clients and industry stakeholders.
Latest posts by Dean Popplewell (see all)
- Euro zone bond yields sink as German manufacturing slows - 24 July 2019
- How Boris Johnson Plans to Deliver Brexit in 100 Days - 24 July 2019
- Weak PMI’s Sink EUR - 24 July 2019