U.S. home price appreciation remained strong in March, meeting consensus estimates and matching the previous month's year-over-year gains.
The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index rose by 5.4 percent in March from the same month last year, in line with expectations.
"The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates," David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement.
Limited supply of homes on the market is also supporting price gains, he said.
The biggest gains continue to be found in the Pacific Northwest and West, where some of the largest declines in urban unemployment have been seen, Blitzer noted.
The pace of home price appreciation ticked up from February in Portland, Oregon, which saw prices rise 12.3 percent year over year. Seattle and Denver took second and third place, respectively with 10.8 percent and 10 percent increases.
The S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which measures all nine U.S. census divisions, was up 5.2 percent in March from the previous year.