The typical U.S. home value climbed 0.9% from February to March, the strongest growth since last June. The Zillow Home Value Index is 3.0% higher than one year ago and 3.2% lower than its peak last July, which was followed by 6 straight months of declines. This month’s turnaround confirms that market conditions have swung from a slow seller’s market in late 2022 to a typical springtime seller’s market, with remarkable speed.

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Mortgage rates fell this week, as leading economic indicators point to slowing aggregate demand and the potential for further disinflation. Up until now, a strong labor market supported consumer spending. However, February’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed a notable decline in hiring and quits, indicating a cooling of the labor market. Leading economic indicators also show signs economic activity is likely to slow.

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Asking rents climbed by $9, or 0.5%, from February to March, according to the latest reading of the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI). That builds on February’s 0.3% increase, when monthly rent growth turned positive after a 4-month slide. The 0.5% increase is still somewhat smaller than the typical March increase of 0.6%, averaged over data from 2016 to 2019, suggesting that today’s growth is still driven mainly by seasonal factors, and overall conditions are still rather cool for this time of year.