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US single-family home prices edge up in March amid rising mortgage rates
Lucia Mutikani
Reuters //May 26, 2026//
A for sale sign is shown for a residential home in Encinitas, California, U.S. July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
A for sale sign is shown for a residential home in Encinitas, California, U.S. July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Mike Blake/File Photo
US single-family home prices edge up in March amid rising mortgage rates
Lucia Mutikani
Reuters //May 26, 2026//
In Brief:
- Federal Housing Finance Agency reports 0.1% price increase in March
- House prices rose 1.7% year-over-year through March
- Mortgage rates hit nine-month high at 6.51% last week
- Regional price gains in Mountain and East North Central regions
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. single-family house prices edged up in March, but further increases are unlikely as the war with Iran pushes mortgage rates higher, dampening housing demand.
House prices gained 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.1% dip in February, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said on Tuesday. Prices were previously reported to have been flat in February.
They increased 1.7% in the 12 months through March, after rising by the same margin in February. House prices rose 1.7% in the first quarter compared to the first three months of 2025.
The U.S.-Israel war with Iran has raised oil prices, fanned inflation, and boosted U.S. Treasury yields.
Mortgage rates track the 10-year Treasury note, whose yield is hovering near a 1-1/2 year high. The popular 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.51% last week, a nine-month high, Freddie Mac data showed.
It averaged 5.98% at the end of February, when the war started, as Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae expanded purchases of mortgage-backed securities.
House prices remain supported by a shortage of previously owned houses, especially starter homes.
Monthly house prices fell in five regions, including New England and West South Central. They increased in the Mountain, East North Central, Middle Atlantic and West North Central regions. On a year-over-year basis, prices increased 5.1% in the East North Central region, but dropped 0.9% in the West South Central region.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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