NEW YORKâThe acceleration in home prices picked up speed during August.
According to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, home prices increased a seasonally adjusted 0.5% during the three-month period ending in August and was up 5.9% compared to the same period a year ago. That was stronger than the 5.8% annual gain in the period ending in July, Case-Shiller reported.
Case-Shiller reported its broader national index rose 6.1% for the year in August, up from 5.9%. In 2016, the national index surpassed the high it previously set at the peak of the housing bubble last year, and is now 5.6% higher. The 20-city index is just 1.8% shy of the 2006 peak.
Annual price gains in August ranged from 3.4% growth in Washington D.C., which looks almost tame compared with the skyrocketing 13.2% in Seattle. Home price appreciation in Las Vegas finished second with an 8.6% increase.
In August, nine cities had greater annual price increases than in July, Case-Shiller said.
Meanwhile, several metropolitan markets where home prices had been rising very quickly showed some tempered numbers in the most recent report. In fact, San Francisco notched the only monthly decline, while Denver prices rose 0.3%.