U.S. home prices rise in August: CoreLogic

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. home prices rose in August as the housing market continued to gain traction, but recent gains could start to wane as the summer comes to an end, data analysis firm CoreLogic said on Tuesday.

CoreLogic's home price index rose 0.3 percent from July and was up 4.6 percent compared with a year ago. It was the biggest year-over-year increase since July 2006.

Excluding distressed sales, price gains were even larger. Home values rose 1 percent compared with the month before and were up 4.9 percent on a yearly basis.

Homes that have been seized by banks or are in danger of being foreclosed are often sold at significantly reduced prices.

Many economists believe the battered housing market has finally turned a corner this year as prices have stabilized.

Still, the report forecast prices will fall 0.3 percent in September as the traditional summer buying boost wears off. Prices are expected to be up 5 percent compared with a year before.

Stripping out distressed sales, prices are seen up 0.6 percent in September and up 6.3 percent from a year ago.

Of the top 100 statistical areas measured by population, 20 showed year-over-year declines, down from 26 in July.

(Reporting by Leah Schnurr)