U.S. Home Prices Rise More Than Expected In October

(RTTNews) - Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas rose by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday.

The report said the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index climbed 0.8 percent in October after rising by a revised 0.5 percent in September.

Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.6 percent, which would have matched the increase originally reported for the previous month.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the index inched up by just 0.1 percent in October after edging up by 0.2 percent in September.

The bigger than expected monthly increase in prices led to an acceleration in the annual rate of price growth, which ticked up to 5.5 percent in October from 5.4 percent in September.

"Generally good economic conditions continue to support gains in home prices," said David M. Blitzer, Managing Director and Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

He added, "Among the positive factors are consumers' expectations of low inflation and further economic growth as well as recent increases in residential construction including single family housing starts."

Wednesday morning, the National Association of Home Builders is scheduled to release a separate report on pending home sales in the month of November.