US house prices in April increase 18.8% on annual basis

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US house prices in April increased 18.8% compared to the same month last year, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) figures released Tuesday.

House prices rose 1.6% in April from the previous month. The monthly gain in March was also revised up to 1.6%, from 1.5%.

The highest annual gain in April, 23.5%, was recorded in the south Atlantic region, which spans from the states of Delaware and Maryland in the north to Georgia and Florida in the south.

That was followed by a 23.3% gain in the mountain region, which includes Colorado, Nevada and Utah.

"House price appreciation continues to remain elevated in April," said Will Doerner, a supervisory economist in FHFA's Division of Research and Statistics.

"The inventory of homes on the market remains low, which has continued to keep upward pressure on sales prices. Increasing mortgage rates have yet to offset demand enough to deter the strong price gains happening across the country," he added.

The agency's house price index uses seasonally adjusted and purchase-only housing data from government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.