Home Prices Surge in September as Pace of Gains Slows

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK -- U.S. single-family home prices rose in September and posted their strongest annualized gain in 7½ years, a closely watched survey said Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 0.7 percent in September on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, matching the Reuters forecast. September's rise in prices, however, was down from the 1.3 percent gain seen from July to August.

"Housing continues to emerge from the financial crisis: the proportion of homes in foreclosure is declining and consumers' balance sheets are strengthening," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement.

"The longer run question is whether household formation continues to recover and if home ownership will return to the peak levels seen in 2004."

Prices in the 20 cities rose 13.3 percent year-over-year, the strongest gain since February 2006, topping expectations for a 13 percent year-on-year advance.

-DailyFinance staff contributed to this report.