U.S. home prices continued climbing in the first quarter, before the impact of the pandemic's economic shutdown took hold.
The median price for a previously owned single-family house was $274,600, up 7.7% from a year earlier, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Tuesday. Prices rose in 96% of the 181 metropolitan areas measured.
Buyer competition for slim supplies of listings has been pushing up prices for years. By mid-March, social-distancing rules forced businesses to close and unemployment started soaring. But while home sales plunged, inventory remained tight, keeping prices elevated.
"The first quarter price jumps mostly reflect conditions prior to the coronavirus outbreak and show the strength of the housing demand prior to the pandemic," Lawrence Yun, chief economist at the Realtors group, said in the report.
"Even now, due to very limited listings, home prices are showing no signs of buckling."
