US: Home prices rising at a firm pace - Nomura

Analysts at Nomura note that the Case Shiller 20-city composite index of US rose 6.79% y-o-y in March after rising 6.76% y-o-y in February as home prices have been rising at a firm pace driven by high demand and relatively low inventories of existing homes for sale.

Key Quotes

“Continued shortage of inventory will likely place downward pressure on the number of sales while putting upward pressure on prices. The report indicates that prices in Seattle continued to rise at the highest pace, followed by Las Vegas and San Francisco.”