Home prices rose strongly in March, the latest sign the housing market has some momentum in the first part of 2016.
March’s S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City home price index stabilized, rising 5.43% YoY beating the 5.16% expectation. This is the largest surprise of this index in 2 years.
“The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “Another factor behind rising home prices is the limited supply of homes on the market.”