Gains in home price appreciation
From Times wire reports
U.S. home-price appreciation accelerated to 12.5% in the first quarter, from a year earlier, as an improving labor market and low mortgage rates fueled demand.
It was the fastest pace since the third quarter’s 25-year high of 13.4%, according to a report from the Washington-based Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. Prices climbed 11.9% in the fourth quarter. The index doesn’t give a price for the quarter, only the size of the increase. The national median price of an existing home was $191,000 in the quarter, according to the Mortgage Bankers Assn.
