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(Bloomberg) -- Home-price gains heated up in December as pent-up buyer demand drove competition for a limited supply of listings.

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A national gauge of prices rose 3.9% from a year earlier, according to data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. That was more than than the 3.7% annual increase in November. After accounting for seasonal adjustments, the index has reached a record for a 19th consecutive month.

House hunters have become accustomed to mortgage rates that have been stuck above 6.5% since late October. The inventory of homes for sale has been on the rise, helping to draw more buyers into the market. But the supply of listings remains tight in many areas, and bidding wars are still breaking out, especially in costly coastal markets.

A measure of values in 20 cities was up 4.5% in December from a year earlier, compared with a 4.3% gain in the previous month. New York kept the top spot among those cities with a 7.2% increase, followed by Chicago and Boston, where prices were up 6.6% and 6.3%, respectively.

“Through this recent market cycle, the ability of Americans to grow wealth by participating in the upside of the US housing market, particularly if done through a leveraged position by securing a mortgage, has proven to be historically beneficial,” Brian Luke, head of commodities, real and digital assets at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement.

Home sales have been subdued in recent months, and listings are lingering in some areas, leading to seller discounts.

“Stifled buyer demand does not typically imply climbing home prices,” said Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com. “In fact, listing prices have eased in recent months as sellers look to attract buyers and more small, affordable homes come up for sale. However, despite trends toward lower listing prices, higher priced homes continue to sell, driving sales prices higher.”

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