US house prices rise more than expected in November

House prices in the US rose in November compared to the same month last year, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller National Home Price Index.

The S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite index was up 5.8% on the year compared with a 5.5% increase in October. This beat economists’ expectations for a 5.7% gain and marked the best reading since July 2014.

Portland, San Francisco and Denver continued to report the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities, with another month of double-digit annual price increases.

Portland saw an 11.1% year-on-year price rise, followed by San Francisco with 11% and Denver with 10.9%.

“Home prices extended their gains, supported by continued low mortgage rates, tight supplies and an improving labor market,” said David M. Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“Sales of existing homes were up 6.5% in 2015 versus 2014, and the number of homes on the market averaged about a 4.8 months’ supply during the year; both numbers suggest a seller’s market.”

He said the consumer portion of the economy such as housing and automobile sales, is doing well, while other parts, such as businesses in the oil and energy sectors are suffering from the 75% drop in oil prices in the last 18 months.