Home prices rise at slower pace

U.S. home prices rose at the slowest pace in more than six years in March, a sign weaker sales are keeping a lid on price increases. The S&P CoreLogic CaseShiller 20-city home price index climbed 2.7 percent from a year earlier, down from an annual gain of 3 percent in February. Nationwide, home price increases have run ahead of wage growth for five years, leaving many homes out of reach. That has slowed sales, forcing would-be sellers to rein in price increases. The 20-city price index has fallen sharply from a year ago, when it increased 6.7 percent. Sales of existing homes slipped in April and are 4.4 percent lower than they were a year earlier. Even with the smaller increase in March, home prices are still rising more quickly than inflation, which increased 2 percent in April from a year ago.