US Home Prices Rise, But Pace Slowing

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National home prices in the U.S. rose 12.1 percent in June from a year earlier, but there are signs the price increases may be slowing, according to the latest data from the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

All 20 cities covered by the index posted gains. However, only six cities recorded increases larger than last month, Case Shiller said.

"Thirteen out of twenty cities saw their returns weaken from May to June," David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in the release. "As we are in the middle of a seasonal buying period, we should expect to see the most gains."

Case-Shiller's national index was up 7.1 percent in the second quarter from the first quarter and 10.1 percent from a year earlier. U.S. home prices are back to their early 2004 levels as of the second quarter, the report says.

In May the Case Shiller 20-city index was up 12.2 percent from a year earlier, the biggest year-over-year gain since March 2006.

The "rate of growth of home prices is certainly slowing, but we're still posting respectable year-over-year increases," Brian Jones, a senior U.S. economist at Societe Generale told Bloomberg. "Housing's in good shape." 

Rising mortgage rates in the U.S. have affected new homes sale and they may have dampened the recent sharp price increases, Mr. Blitzer says. The latest data is not as "robust as last spring," with starts and sales of new homes continuing to "lag the pace set by existing homes," he said.

San Francisco and Las Vegas, which has led the nation in the housing recovery, were the only two cities to report yearly price increases over 20 percent. 

"The Southwest and California have consistently led the recovery with Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco posting at least 15 months of gains," Mr. Blitzer said.

Overall, San Francisco home prices have increased 47 percent from is low in March 2009, while Phoenix is 37.1 percent above its September 2011 low.

Video: Bloomberg on the Numbers