US house prices rise a touch less than expected in February

House prices in the US rose a touch less than expected in February, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite was up 5.4% on the year, down from 5.7% the previous month and missing expectations of a 5.5% increase.

Portland, Seattle, and Denver saw the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities with another month of annual price increases.

Portland led the way with an 11.9% year-over-year price increase, followed by Seattle with 11%, and Denver with 9.7%.

"Home prices continue to rise twice as fast as inflation, but the pace is easing off in the most recent numbers,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“The year-over-year figures for the 10-City and 20-City Composites both slowed and 13 of the 20 cities saw slower year-over-year numbers compared to last month. The slower growth rate is evident in the monthly seasonally adjusted numbers: six cities experienced smaller monthly gains in February compared to January, when no city saw growth. Among the six were Seattle, Portland OR, and San Diego, all of which were very strong last time.”