[NEW YORK] Annualized US single-family home prices rose less than expected in November, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas rose 5.7 per cent in December on a year-over-year basis, matching the increase the month before. That was just below the 5.8 per cent estimate from a Reuters poll of economists. "While home prices continue to rise, the pace is slowing a bit," said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Prices rose 0.8 per cent in December from November on a seasonally adjusted basis, the survey showed, just short of expectations for a rise of 0.9 per cent.

On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, prices were unchanged from November.

Home prices in three US cities, San Francisco, Denver and Portland, Oregon, continue to report the highest year-over-year gains, the survey showed.

REUTERS