U.S. housing recovery shows strength U.S. single-family home prices rose in January, starting the year with the biggest annual increase in six-and-a-half years in a fresh sign the housing market recovery remains on track, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday. The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1 per cent month-on-month in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, topping expectations for 0.9 per cent. Prices have been gaining since last February. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, prices rose 0.1 per cent. Prices in the 20 cities climbed 8.1 per cent year-over-year, also beating expectations for 7.9 per cent. It was the biggest yearly increase since June 2006, when housing prices were on their way down as the market was starting to collapse.