WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices across the country increased at a slower pace in June — a cool-down that could last for several more months.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 8.1 percent in June from 12 months earlier, according to a report released Tuesday. That's down from 9.4 percent rise a month earlier and the smallest annual gain since December 2012.
Yearly price growth weakened in all 20 cities surveyed. Home values in Cleveland nudged up just 0.8 percent. Las Vegas led with a 15.2 percent gain. But prices in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Tampa, Florida, are still at least 33 percent below their housing bubble peaks of almost a decade ago.
The deceleration should help ease some of the price pressures on would-be buyers. After slumping at the start of 2014, existing-home sales have picked up as price gains have slowed. But buying remains 4.3 percent below the July 2013 level, according to the National Realtors Association.
