Home prices rise in October; Las Vegas leads nation with 27.1 percent annual gain

WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose in October from the previous year at the fastest pace in almost eight years, and Las Vegas led the nation in annualized gains.

But price gains slowed in most U.S. cities from September to October, suggesting the increases are leveling off.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 0.2 percent from September to October, down from a 0.7 percent increase from August to September.

Monthly price gains slowed in 18 of the 20 cities tracked by the index. And prices declined in nine cities, including Chicago, Denver, and Washington.

For the year, prices are still strong, reflecting big gains in earlier months. They have risen 13.6 percent over the past 12 months, the fastest since February 2006.

“Annual returns have been in double-digit territory since March 2013 and increasing,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P Dow Jones index committee. “However, monthly numbers show we are living on borrowed time and the boom is fading.”

All 20 cities in the index showed a year-over-year gain, led by a 27.1 percent advance in Las Vegas. Values climbed 10.9 percent in Chicago, its biggest advance since 1988. Charlotte and Dallas showed their largest increases in record-keeping going back to 1987 and 2000, respectively.

The Case-Shiller index covers roughly half of U.S. homes. It isn’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so the change partly reflects slower buying in the fall. The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The October figure was thereby influenced by transactions in September and August.

The housing market has been recovering since 2012 and has helped drive economic growth over the past year.

But the gains have slowed in recent months, as increases in mortgage rates and home prices have crimped affordability. The partial government shutdown in October also delayed some sales.

Sales of existing homes have fallen from September to November, the National Association of Realtors said earlier this month.

Despite the declines, home re-sales should reach 5.1 million in 2013, the best total in seven years, the Realtors forecast. That’s 10 percent higher than 2012. But it is still below the 5.5 million that is consistent with healthier housing markets.

And one Realtor sees optimism for more price advances in the new year.

“There’s certainly room for home prices to continue rising in the coming year,” Dana Saporta, an economist at Credit Suisse in New York, who projected a 13.7 percent year-over-year advance in prices, told Bloomberg News. “As home prices continue to rise, more and more homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages will see their financial situations improving. Just getting out of that underwater position should be a big help to the economy.”

Mortgage rates have also risen by roughly a full percentage point since the spring, though they remain low by historical standards. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said last week that the average rate on the 30-year loan is 4.48 percent.

Many economists say the Case-Shiller figures overstate recent price gains because they include foreclosures. Foreclosed homes usually sell at steep discounts. As the proportion of those sales declines, the index rises more sharply.