Home prices in 20 cities rise 5% in July

Home prices in 20 U. S. cities continued to gain at a solid pace in July, according to Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case- Shiller data released Tuesday.

The 20- city property- value index climbed 5 percent from July 2015, after a 5.1 percent year- over- year rise in June. The national home- price gauge increased 5.1 percent from 12 months earlier. On a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted, 20- city gauge was little changed.

Steady price appreciation is keeping the housing market on a reassuring path at the start of the second half of 2016. The residential real estate market took a breather last month, with sales of previously owned homes unexpectedly declining in August while purchases of new properties retreated from a nine- year high. Durable job gains and borrowing costs lingering near record lows should remain a support for potential homebuyers.

“Both the housing sector and the economy continue to expand,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S& P index committee, said in a statement. While some cities are seeing rapid price gains, “there is no reason to fear that another massive collapse is around the corner,” because mortgage debt is rising at a relatively slow pace.

All 20 cities in the index showed year- over- year gains, led by a 12.4 percent increase in Portland, Ore., and 11.2 percent in Seattle. New York and Washington posted the smallest 12- month advances — Bloomberg News