House prices in the Twin Cities and beyond are rising, but not as quickly as they did earlier in the recovery. That's according to the September S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, which shows that a 10-city composite gained 4.8 percent year-over-year, down from 5.5 percent in August. The 20-city composite gained 4.9 percent year-over-year, compared to 5.6% in August.
In the Twin Cities metro, prices during September increased 0.1 percent from the previous month and 3.1 percent from last year. That's slightly behind a the 4.8 percent annual gain for the National Home Price Index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions.
Though price gains are moderating, the report noted several statistics that bode well for a continued recovery. Housing starts held above one million at annual rates because of gains in single-family homes, sales of existing house are rising, builders' sentiment has improved and mortgage default rates are at pre-crisis levels. This following chart shows house prices in the Twin Cities house prices through September.
