U.S. home prices took a significant jump in March, increasing 1.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with February, according to FNC’s Residential Price Index (RPI).
Following tepid growth throughout the fall and winter months, it was the fastest monthly rise in home prices in nine months, FNC says.
On a year-over-year basis, prices continue to enjoy robust growth, rising 5.7% compared with March 2015. On a quarter-over-quarter basis, home prices were up 0.4% compared with the fourth quarter of 2015.
“March’s large rebound follows an expected seasonal trend, commencing the arrival of a busy spring home buying season,” says Yanling Mayer, housing economist and director of research for FNC, in a release. “It is also partly driven by persistent low inventory, which has already made this spring’s home buying more competitive.”
“In fact, we are seeing signs that the supply condition and resulting price bidding are driving prices of entry-level homes to rise much faster than the average property on the market,” Mayer adds.
Sales of real estate owned properties – which are presented separately in the report – accounted for 11.5% of all existing-home sales in March – down from 13.1% in February and down 12.7% from a year ago. Preliminary data for April shows that the share of foreclosure sales have fallen into the single digits, FNC reports.
For more, including a breakdown of home price trends by metropolitan market, click here.