Jump in home prices highest since 2005

The jump in average home prices has risen to its highest level since 2005 due to the supply of houses not meeting demand.

The average price of a home in metropolitan areas in the U.S. rose 13.2 percent in March compared to a year earlier, according to the March S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller National Home Price Index, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The surge in home prices is driven by an increase in the number of buyers looking for homes, perhaps driven by the pandemic, without the number of homes for sale keeping up.

The 13.2 percent annual rate in March is the highest rate of price growth since December 2005, the Journal noted.

The National Association of Realtors found only 1.16 million homes up for sale in April, a decrease of 21 percent compared to the previous year and a record low since 1982, The Associated Press reported.

The organization also saw 88 percent of houses that were up for sale sold in less than a month in April, according to the AP.