Home-Price Index Sees Largest Jump in 7 Years

Home prices in 20 major U.S. cities rose in October by the most in 20 years, according to Standard & Poor’s.

S&P’s Case-Shiller index said property prices rose 13.6% from October 2012 in the 20 cities, the most since February 2006, after a 13.3% increase in September. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News expected a 13.5% increase.

Low inventories of homes, in addition to low foreclosure rates and “distressed” transactions, contributed to the increase, Ryan Wang, an economist at HSBC Securities USA Inc., told Bloomberg.

“We’ll see a smaller increase in 2014, but low inventory levels should help prices recover a bit more,” Wang said.

Adjusting for seasonal variations, the Case-Shiller index rose 1% from September, the same increase as the previous month.