Washington (AFP) - US housing price growth slowed in July, with the strongest gains in the cities of Portland, Seattle and Denver, according to survey data released Tuesday.
The S&P Case-Shiller price index for 20 major US cities recorded a 5 percent annual increase, down from 5.1 percent in June. Analysts had forecast gains of 5.1 percent in the index for July.
Month over month, however, the seasonally adjusted twenty-city index was unchanged.
Continued expansion in the housing sector coincides with market expectations that economic growth and low interest rates from the US Federal Reserve will persist, according to David Blitzer, head of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, which produced the data.
"Most analysts now expect the Fed to raise interest rates in December. After such Fed action, mortgage rates would still be at historically low levels and would not be a major negative for house prices," he said in a statement.
The home price index remains 7.6 percent below the June-July peak recorded in 2006.
Jim O'Sullivan, chief US economist at High Frequency Economics, said the flat monthly reading likely reflected large seasonal adjustment.
"The drag from seasonal adjustment will fade in the next few months.
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