U.S. home prices continue to accelerate in March, likely to rise at stable pace this year

Home prices in the U.S. continued to accelerate in March. The S&P CoreLogic Case Shiller National Home Price Index was up 0.9 percent on a sequential basis in March, coming in line with consensus expectations. On a year-on-year basis, the home price index was up 5.8 percent in the month, consistent with trends in other home price indices.

Prices of homes continued to accelerate the fastest in regions of the country where the technology sector is booming, while the supply of homes available for sale is constrained. The 20-City and 10-City indices were up 5.9 percent and 5.2 percent respectively. Even if there is some regional variance, all 20 cities have recorded gains in home price in the past year. Seattle and Portland continue to lead, with prices there accelerating 12.3 percent and 9.2 percent year-on-year respectively.

Home prices in metro areas are also rising modestly, with prices outpacing incomes. The share of consumers stating now is good time to sell a house has risen above the share reporting it is a good time to purchase for the last two months, showed the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey. This might foretell a rise in the number of homes on the market that would be a welcomed development, noted Wells Fargo in a research report. According to a Barclays research report, today’s home price data strengthens the view of a stable pace of home price appreciation in 2017.

At 16:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of US Dollar was neutral at -42.3393. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex