US home prices rise in January

US home prices crept higher in January, the S&P/Case-Shiller index showed on Tuesday, as gains in the US housing market showed resilience even as mortgage rates rose from record-lows. The 20-city index showed an 0.1 percent gain from December on a non-seasonally adjusted basis; adjusted, the increase was 1.0 percent. Year-on-year, prices for the 20 top urban areas were up 8.1 percent, with the strongest gains in two of the markets hardest-hit by the housing crash, Las Vegas (+15.3 percent) and Phoenix (+23.2 percent). San Francisco, with a tight housing supply measured against the surging wealth of the technology sector, registered a 17.5 percent rise for the year through January. It was the best year-on-year gain since mid-2006, just before the crash, said S&P Dow Jones Indices chairman David Blitzer. "This marks the highest increase since the housing bubble burst," he said.