S&P Dow Jones' David Blitzer Blitzer says for-sale inventory is now the lowest since the mid-1980s.

NEW YORK CITY—Home prices nationwide rose at a slower pace in March than in February, but increases in a 20-city index either met or beat expectations. The latest S&P/Case-Shiller home price index, released Tuesday, showed a 0.85% increase month-over-month and a 5.43% gain year-over-year in the 20-city index.

Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had expected an annual increase of 5.4%, while a Bloomberg Business survey called for 5.11%. The S&P/Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, covering all nine US census divisions, reported a 5.2% annual gain in March, down from 5.3% the previous month.

Among the 20 metro areas in the 20-city index, Portland, Seattle and Denver saw the biggest Y-O-Y increases. Portland led the way with a 12.3% Y-O-Y increase, followed by Seattle with 10.8% and Denver with 10.0%. Ten cities in all posted greater price increases in the year ending March 2016 versus the year ending February 2016.

“Home prices are continuing to rise at a 5% annual rate, a pace that has held since the start of 2015,” says David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “The economy is supporting the price increases with improving labor markets, falling unemployment rates and extremely low mortgage rates.”

Blitzer adds that another factor behind rising home prices is limited inventory. “The number of homes currently on the market is less than 2% of the number of households in the US, the lowest percentage seen since the mid-1980s,” he says.

The news on home prices follows last week’s report from the National Association of Realtors that pending home sales in April reached their highest level in more than a decade. April’s NAR Pending Home Sales Index rose 5.4% from the previous month to 116.3, the index’s best showing since the 117.4 seen in February 2006.

“The ability to sign a contract on a home is slightly exceeding expectations this spring even with the affordability stresses and inventory squeezes affecting buyers in a number of markets,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR. “The building momentum from the over 14 million jobs created since 2010 and the prospect of facing higher rents and mortgage rates down the road appear to be bringing more interested buyers into the market.”

On the rental side of the residential market, the National Association of Home Builders said this past Thursday that the Multifamily Production Index come in at 53 for the first quarter. It marked the 17th consecutive quarter with a reading above 50, with a number above 50 indicating that more builders say conditions are improving than declining.

“This quarter’s Multifamily Production Index reflects construction at high levels as the market finds a balance between supply and demand,” says Robert Dietz, chief economist at NAHB. “A consistent reading of over 50 only bolsters the view that multifamily housing starts have recovered to a healthy rate and will remain relatively stable through 2016.” Check back on GlobeSt.com tomorrow morning for the latest on where multifamily rents are headed.