US house prices rise more than expected in March - Case-Shiller

US house prices grew more than expected in March as coronavirus shutdowns were beginning to be implemented, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index.

The 20-city index rose 3.9% on the year, up from 3.5% the month before and ahead of expectations for a 3.3% increase.

Meanwhile, the national home price NSA index covering all nice US census divisions was 4.4% higher, up from 4.2% growth in February.

Phoenix, Seattle and Charlotte reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 19 cities - excluding Detroit for the month. Phoenix led the way with an 8.2% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle with a 6.9% jump and Charlotte with a 5.8% rise. Seventeen of the 19 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending March 2020 versus the year ending February 2020.

Craig J. Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said: "March’s data witnessed the first impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices.

"We have data from only 19 cities this month, since transactions records for Wayne County, Michigan (in the Detroit metropolitan area) were unavailable. That said, housing prices continue to be remarkably stable."

He added: "Importantly, today’s report covers real estate transactions closed during the month of March. Housing prices have not yet registered any adverse effects from the governmental suppression of economic activity in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. As much of the US economy remained shuttered in April, next month’s data may show a more noticeable impact."