US house prices rise more quickly than anticipated in March

House price gains in the US accelerated further at the start of the year, fresh government data revealed.

According to the Federal Housing Financing Agency, house prices rose at a year-on-year rate of 12.6% over the first three months of 2021.

That was up from 12.3% in February and more than twice the rate observed over the same period one year ago.

In comparison to the month before, house prices jumped at a month-on-month pace of 1.4%, as expected by economists.

Price gains were fastest in the Pacific, Mountain and New England census divisions.

At the state level, the biggest annual price gains were seen Idaho, Utah and Arizona, where prices rose by 23.7%, 19.2%, and 17.4%, respectively.