Home-price Growth Last Year Doubled Inflation, Case-Shiller Index Finds

House prices edged up 0.1% in December to take the year-on-year change to 4.5% -- or put another way, twice the rate of inflation, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city composite released Tuesday. There was more a regional than a national trend to the data, with Miami and Denver seeing the strongest monthly advance, while Chicago and Cleveland saw the largest decline. Compared to year-ago levels, San Francisco saw the strongest growth with 9.3% gains, and Chicago saw the weakest growth of just 1.3%. "The regional patterns and the weakness in new construction and new sales may reflect decreasing mobility - fewer people moving to different parts of the country or seeking jobs in different regions," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.