By Shaila DeWan | The New York Times
The housing market, one of the main drivers of the economic recovery, continues to gain strength despite the drag of rising mortgage rates and other economic headwinds, but some analysts are worried that it may slow in the months ahead.
For now, though, builders are building, sellers are selling and mortgage lenders are less nervous about extending credit to buyers.
The heady price increases in the first half of the year slowed a bit in July, according to data released on Tuesday.
But in the face of pent-up demand and emboldened consumers, home values were still heading upward at a healthy pace, rising 12.4 percent from July 2012 to July 2013, according to the Standard & Poor’s Case/Shiller home price index, which tracks sales in 20 cities.
