US house price growth slows

US housing price growth slowed to just 0.2 per cent in the first three months of 2014, latest figures show. According to the S&P/Case-Shiller index, the slowdown in growth compared with the previous quarter was partly caused by tighter bank lending regulations. Further compounding the problem is rising student loan debt, which has discouraged first-time buyers. Nationally, US home prices are still up 10.3 per cent, compared with a year earlier. "The year-over-year changes suggest that prices are rising more slowly," said index chairman David M Blitzer in a statement. "Among those markets seeing substantial slowdowns in price gains were some of the leading boom-bust markets including Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco and Tampa," he added. An index of the housing prices in 20 US cities showed a 0.9-per cent increase in March compared with February, according to a news agency.