Real Estate

Home prices in 20 metro cities rise 5% in Feb: S&P/Case-Shiller

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A closely watched index of U.S. housing prices showed increases picked up steam in 20 U.S. cities in February.

The S&P/Case-Shiller's 20-City Composite gained 5 percent year-over-year in February, compared with a 4.5 percent increase in January.

Denver led the gains with a 10-percent increase in home prices in the last 12 months, marking the first double-digit gain for the city since August 2013. San Francisco, where values appreciated 9.8 percent from February 2014, saw the largest acceleration in prices.

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Only San Diego, Las Vegas, and Portland, OR saw the pace if increases slow from the previous year.

"Home prices continue to rise and outpace both inflation and wage gains," said David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Home prices in all nine U.S. census divisions have increased for 34 consecutive months, according to S&P Case-Shiller's National Home Price Index.

Prices across the United States remain 10 percent below the housing peak in July 2006.

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