US house price inflation slows in March
With housing inventory still well below pre-pandemic levels, house prices could remain elevated for a while
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US HOUSE price growth slowed sharply in March, likely as rising mortgage rates weighed on demand, data showed on Tuesday (May 28).
Prices edged up 0.1 per cent in March after surging by an unrevised 1.2 per cent in February, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said in its monthly report on home prices.
On a year-over-year basis, prices increased 6.7 per cent in March after advancing 7.1 per cent in February.
Existing home sales, which account for the bulk of US house sales, fell in March as the average rate on the popular 30-year fixed-rate mortgage drifted up towards 7 per cent.
But with housing inventory still well below pre-pandemic levels, house prices could remain elevated for a while.
Prices increased 6.6 per cent between the first quarter of this year and the first three months of 2023. They were up 1.1 per cent compared with the fourth quarter.
“US house prices continued to grow at a steady pace in the first quarter,” said Anju Vajja, deputy Director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics.
“Over the last six consecutive quarters, the low inventory of homes for sale continued to contribute to house price appreciation despite mortgage rates that hovered around 7 per cent.” REUTERS
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