House party! Prices up 6.1%

US home prices rose sharply in August from a year ago, a trend that is thwarting many would-be buyers and potentially slowing sales.

The Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller US National Home Price Index, released Tuesday, reported a 6.1 increase in August from a year earlier. That’s higher than the 5.9 percent annual gain in July. In nine of the 20 cities tracked by the index, yearly price gains in August were faster than in July.

Fewer Americans are selling their homes, and builders aren’t putting up enough new houses to meet burgeoning demand. That has forced home buyers into bidding wars, lifting prices. Mortgage rates remain at historically low levels, making it easier to afford higher costs. That has resulted in rising prices even as sales have slipped this year.

“Home price increases appear to be unstoppable,” says David Blitzer, a managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. Housing costs are climbing much faster than overall inflation or wages.

Sales of existing homes ticked up in September after falling for three months. But, according to the National Association of Realtors, sales have fallen 1.5 percent from a year ago, the first year-over-year decline since July 2016.

Yet the declining sales figures don’t reflect a lack of demand. A typical home in September was snapped up just 34 days after listing, down from 39 days a year ago. Buyers simply aren’t finding many options, particularly among less expensive homes.