U.S. home prices rose 5.1% in August

The Associated Press reported this week that, “U.S. home prices climbed at a solid pace in August as more buyers competed for fewer available properties.

“The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.1% in August, after a 5% gain in July. Portland, Seattle and Denver reported the strongest year-over-year increases for the seventh month in a row, with gains of 11.7%, 11.4% and 8.8%, respectively.”

The AP article noted that, “Steady hiring, low mortgage rates and some early signs of rising pay have encouraged more Americans to buy homes. Sales of existing properties increased 3.2% in September from August, the National Assn. of Realtors said last week.

“Yet the number of homes for sale has fallen nearly 7% from a year ago, the trade group said. Just 2.04 million homes were for sale in September.”

The AP article added that, “Developers are building more new homes, but not quickly enough to restrain price increases. Builders broke ground on 783,000 single-family homes at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in September, up 5.4% from a year earlier. Apartment construction fell sharply.”

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