(Bloomberg) -- Home prices climbed in 85 percent of U.S. metropolitan areas in the first quarter as low mortgage rates and the strongest labor market in almost seven years spurred demand.
The median price of an existing single-family home rose from a year earlier in 148 of the 174 areas measured, the National Association of Realtors said in a report Monday. Fifty-one areas had price gains of 10 percent or more, compared with 24 regions in the fourth quarter. Prices declined in 25 areas.
The housing market is benefiting as employment returns to pre-crisis levels. Contracts to buy homes rose in March to the highest level for the month since 2005, according to the Realtors group. The unemployment rate was 5.5 percent in February and March, a level the Federal Reserve defines as full employment, meaning anyone who wants a job has one. The rate dropped to 5.4 percent in April.
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