Stat of the Day: A Little More On Housing

Over the weekend we offered up our tracking of 4 key data points that suggest that the housing market is a-ok for the time being. Today's release of the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index says essentially the same thing:

From Bloomberg:

Still-healthy demand and a lean number of available properties continued to drive home prices higher in March. A gauge of property values in 20 U.S. cities advanced a greater-than-forecast 6.8 percent from a year earlier, while a measure of housing prices across the nation climbed 6.5 percent -- both the biggest gains in four years. Annual home-price appreciation in March was biggest in Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data released on Tuesday.

Economist Views

“Months-supply, which combines inventory levels and sales, is currently at 3.8 months, lower than the levels of the 1990s, before the housing boom and bust,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “Until inventories increase faster than sales, or the economy slows significantly, home prices are likely to continue rising.”