US house prices annually jump 6.6% in 1st quarter

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US house prices annually jumped 6.6% in the first quarter of 2024, from the same period last year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Tuesday.

House prices, meanwhile, were up 1.1% in the January - March period, compared to the previous quarter, the FHFA said in a statement.

On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, they increased 0.1% from March, it added.

"U.S. house prices continued to grow at a steady pace in the first quarter," said Anju Vajja, acting deputy director for FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics.

"Over the last six consecutive quarters, the low inventory of homes for sale continued to contribute to house price appreciation despite mortgage rates that hovered around 7 percent," added Vajja.

Annually, the three US states with the highest annual appreciation in the first quarter were recorded in Vermont with 12.8%, followed by New Jersey at 11.6% and New York with 10.9%, according to the FHFA.