U.S. home prices rose sharply in November, lifted by a shortage of homes on the market.
Home prices increased 6.2% from the previous year, according to the Standard & Poor’s CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index, after climbing 6.1% in October.
The national housing index has registered annual gains of 5% or more for 16 consecutive months.
David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, notes that housing construction is running well below historical levels.
“Without more supply, home prices may continue to substantially outpace inflation,” he says.
The national index is 6.1% above the peak it reached in July 2006—before prices went into a 27.4% freefall—a collapse that tipped the American economy into the worst recession since the 1930s.
