Over the last month, data published showed generally positive conditions in the U.S. housing market, with rates increasing in home prices, housing starts and new-home sales. The data also reflected a decrease in the monthly rate of existing-home sales.

Data released March 28 by the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices showed a continued rise in home prices across the country. The Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA index saw a 5.9% annual gain after seasonal adjustment in January, marking a 31-month high.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, privately owned housing starts in the U.S. during the month of February increased by a seasonally adjusted rate of 6.2% year over year. The February rate was also up 3.0% from January's revised estimate. Meanwhile, single-family housing starts in February were up 6.5% from the prior month.

During February, new single-family home sales saw an increase on both an annual and monthly basis, with gains of 12.8% and 6.1%, respectively, according to the Census Bureau and HUD.

Existing-home sales in the U.S. were down by 3.7% on a monthly basis in February, after reaching the fastest pace in almost a decade the prior month, the National Association of Realtors reported. However, on a yearly basis, sales were 5.4% above the February 2016 rate.

Use SNL's Homebuilder Peer Analysis Template from the Template Library to further examine performance in the U.S. homebuilder space.

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