US house prices annually soar 9.8% in October

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US house prices annually soared 9.8% in October, compared to the same month of last year, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday.

However, the house price index, which reflects the average change of house prices across the nation, showed a slowdown from the 11.1% annual gain in September.

On a monthly basis, house prices remained flat nationwide in October from the previous month.

"Higher mortgage rates continued to put downward pressure on demand, weakening house price growth," said Nataliya Polkovnichenko, a supervisory economist in FHFA's Division of Research and Statistics.

"The US house price index growth decelerated as it posted the first 12-month growth rate below 10 percent after 24 consecutive months of double-digit appreciation rates," she added.

On an annual basis, South Atlantic division, which spans from the states of Delaware and Maryland in the north to Georgia and Florida in the south, recorded the strongest year-on-year price appreciation with a 14.1% gain.