WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices jumped in February as buyers are fiercely competing over a dwindling number of homes for sale.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index released Tuesday jumped 6.3 percent in February from a year earlier, matching December's increase, which was the largest in nearly three years.

Steady job gains and an increase in millennials moving out on their own has ramped up competition for homes. February's price gain far outpaces average increases in wages or inflation.

Many Americans are reluctant to sell their homes as mortgage rates rise, preferring to renovate instead. Others are holding onto their homes because there fewer properties available. That's kept supply tight: The number of homes for sale fell 7.2 percent in March from a year earlier to just 1.67 million.