US house price growth eases in April

US house price growth eased back a touch in April, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

The 20-city index was up 6.6% on the year, slowing down from 6.7% growth in March and a touch weaker than expectations for a 6.8% gain.

Meanwhile, the national home price NSA index covering all nine US census divisions was 6.4% higher on the year, down from 6.5% the month before.

Seattle, Las Vegas, and San Francisco continued to report the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. Seattle led the way with a 13.1% increase, followed by Las Vegas with 12.7% and San Francisco with 10.9%.

David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said: “Cities west of the Rocky Mountains continue to lead price increases with Seattle, Las Vegas and San Francisco ranking 1-2-3 based on price movements in the trailing 12 months. The favourable economy and moderate mortgage rates both support recent gains in housing. One factor pushing prices up is the continued low supply of homes for sale. The months-supply is currently 4.3 months, up from levels below 4 months earlier in the year, but still low.

"Looking back to the peak of the boom in 2006, 10 of the 20 cities tracked by the indices are higher than their peaks; the other ten are below their high points. The National Index is also above its previous all-time high, the 20-city index slightly up versus its peak, and the 10-city is a bit below. However, if one adjusts the price movements for inflation since 2006, a very different picture emerges. Only three cities - Dallas, Denver and Seattle - are ahead in real, or inflation-adjusted, terms. The National Index is 14% below its boom-time peak and Las Vegas, the city with the longest road to a new high, is 47% below its peak when inflation is factored in."