US home prices rise at slowest pace in nearly a year

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FILE- In this Aug. 30, 2018, file photo sold placards top sale signs outside homes on the market in Denver. On Tuesday, Sept. 25, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index for July is released. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices rose in July at the slowest pace in 10 months as home sales have stumbled amid higher mortgage rates.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 5.9 percent in July compared with a year earlier, down from a 6.4 percent annual gain in July.

Home prices are rising at twice the rate of wages, which has likely contributed to a cooling in the market this year. Sales of existing homes have dropped 1.5 percent in the past 12 months. Mortgage rates last week reached their highest level since May.

Las Vegas, Seattle and San Francisco reported the biggest annual gains, with all three cities seeing double-digit increases. Yet in 15 of 20 cities, price gains were smaller in July than the previous year.