Bloomberg U.S. home prices rose 5.9 percent in April from a year earlier as job growth spurred competition for a limited number of listings. Prices climbed 0.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from March, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said in a report on from Washington. The average estimate of 20 economists was for a 0.6 percent gain, …

  Bloomberg Merlin Properties Socimi SA and Metrovacesa SA agreed to combine their commercial and residential property businesses, creating Spain’s largest real estate investment trust. Merlin shares rose the most in five months. Merlin will pay €1.7 billion ($1.9 billion) in stock to the banks that own Metrovacesa and get a controlling stake in the combined firms’ commercial-property portfolio, issuing …

  Bloomberg A popular narrative of the U.S. housing market has been that big city prices are locking out young buyers, feeding a cycle in which a growing number of people are forced to rent at ever higher rates as demand overwhelms supply. Throw in the fact that wages haven’t kept pace, and you have a world where a wide …