U.S. house prices climb for 10th consecutive quarter

U.S. house prices edged up 1.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013 on a seasonally-adjusted basis, marking the 10th consecutive quarterly increases, official data showed on Tuesday.

But that is the slowest pace since the third quarter of 2012, showed the House Price Index of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), pointing to a moderation in the housing market.

"Home prices appreciation in the fourth quarter was considerable, but more modest than in recent periods," said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis.

"It is too early to know whether the lower quarterly growth rate represents the beginning of more normalized price appreciation patterns or a more significant slowdown," he added.

The figures also showed that U.S. house prices rose 0.8 percent in December from the prior month and was up 7.7 percent from a year ago.

The FHFA measures changes in real estate values using purchases of properties with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. It did not provide a specific price for houses.

U.S. National Association of Realtors last week reported that the median existing home price for all housing types was 188,900 U. S. dollars in January, up 10.7 percent from a year earlier.