WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. home price gains slowed for the fifth straight month in August as higher mortgage rates have lowered home sales.
The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 5.5 percent in August compared with a year earlier, down from a 5.9 percent gain in the previous month.
The deceleration reflects a broader weakening in the nation’s housing market. Sales of existing homes have dropped for six straight months and sales of new homes have fallen for the past four. Home price increases ran ahead of wage gains for five years and appear to have left many would-be buyers on the sidelines.
Prices rose the most in Las Vegas, San Francisco and Seattle. But price gains have slowed compared with a year earlier in 14 of the 20 cities tracked.
