A Lack of Listings Is Driving Up Home Prices

Home prices continued to rise in March as a largely absent share of home sellers restricted for-sale supply. Even as the Federal Reserve increased rates to tame inflation in the housing market and beyond, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home-price index rose 0.5% in March compared with the previous month, Realtor.com reports.

Miami, Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., saw the biggest annual price gains, with increases of 7.7%, 4.8%, and 4.7%, respectively, while Western metros such as Seattle and San Francisco saw double-digit declines of -12.4% and -11.2%, respectively.

What S&P said: “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,” Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P DJI, said.

“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.

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