US 20-city gauge shows home prices continue to rise in January

Washington

HOME values in 20 US cities kept climbing in January, a sign the limited supply of available properties may push prices out of reach for some buyers.

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values increased 5.7 per cent from January 2015, following a 5.6 per cent gain in the year ended in December, the group said Tuesday in New York. That matched the median projection of 26 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Nationally, prices rose 5.4 per cent year-over-year.

Home values that are rising more quickly than incomes could pose a problem for the housing recovery, as they put purchases out of reach for first-time and low-income buyers. A wider selection of available homes will be needed to help keep price incr…