Home Prices Rise 1% In June, S&P Case-Shiller Shows

U.S. house prices rose 1% in June, reflecting an uptick in sales and a low supply of properties for sale, according to the S&P Case-Shiller 20-city composite index. After seasonal adjustment, prices fell 0.1%. Home prices in June were up 5% from a year earlier, little changed from May. "Nationally, home prices continue to rise at a 4% to 5% annual rate, two to three times the rate of inflation," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Yet he also noted that builders have begun work on more homes, a trend that could help stabilize prices. The biggest year-over-year increases in prices occurred in Denver (10.2%), San Francisco (9.5%) and Dallas (8.2%).