Home prices rose in March for second straight month

Nationwide home prices rose for the second consecutive month in March as a limited supply of homes for sale continued to heat up competition, according to data released on Monday.

New S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index data showed prices rose 0.4 percent from February on a seasonally adjusted basis. 

“Two months of increasing prices do not a definitive recovery make, but March’s results suggest that the decline in home prices that began in June 2022 may have come to an end,” said Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, in a statement. 

“That said, the challenges posed by current mortgage rates and the continuing possibility of economic weakness are likely to remain a headwind for housing prices for at least the next several months,” he added. 

Nationally, home prices in March were 0.7 percent higher than they were at the same time last year. 

The price increases were driven by high demand for a limited number of homes, Zillow senior economist Nicole Bachaud added in a statement.  

“As a result, prices started picking back up on a monthly basis in early 2023 following months of price stagnation and declines,” she said. 

Lazzara noted the price increases were also evident at a more “granular level” with the 10-City Composite and 20-City Composite posting increases of 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively, before seasonal adjustment in March. 

Miami, which posted a 7.7 percent increase year-over-year, continued its streak as the best-performing city for the eighth straight month. 

Zillow’s Bachaud added that new construction could eventually offer relief to buyers. 

“New construction could be the beacon of light the housing market desperately needs right now, as home builders are gaining confidence amongst rising sales, hopefully soon to translate to more residential construction breaking ground in the coming months,” she said.  

New single-family home sales increased 4.1 percent from March to April and were up by 11.8 percent from a year ago, according to data released by the Census Bureau last week.