Referenews

On a year-over-year basis, the index rose 9.2% in October, down from a 10.7% annual rate the prior month.

A surge in mortgage rates this year brought an end to a pandemic-driven housing boom that drove up sales prices and pushed many buyers out of the market. Existing-home sales fell for 10 straight months through November.

Many economists expect prices to continue to slide from their spring peaks, with some calling for year-on-year price declines in 2023. So far this year, prices are down 3% from their June highs, according to the Case-Shiller index. Prices are declining fastest in West Coast markets, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas, where from September to October they fell 1.6% and 1.8%, respectively.

“As the Federal Reserve continues to move interest rates higher, mortgage financing continues to be a headwind for home prices,” said

Craig Lazzara,

managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices. “Given the continuing prospects for a challenging macroeconomic environment, prices may well continue to weaken.”

The Case-Shiller index, which measures repeat-sales data, reports on a two-month delay and reflects a three-month moving average. Homes usually go under contract a month or two before they close, so the October data is based on purchase decisions made earlier in the year.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.27% as of Dec. 22, up from 3.05% a year earlier, according to housing-finance agency

Freddie Mac.

The median existing-home price rose 3.5% in November from a year earlier to $370,700, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The Case-Shiller 10-city index gained 8% over the year ended in October, compared with a 9.6% increase in September. The 20-city index rose 8.6%, after an annual gain of 10.4% in September. Price growth decelerated in all of the 20 cities.

Miami had the fastest annual home-price growth in the country, at 21%, followed by Tampa, at 20.5%, and Charlotte at 15%. The weakest market was San Francisco, where prices rose 0.6% on an annual basis.

Write to Will Parker at will.parker@wsj.com