Jan. 27--Home prices in Los Angeles and Orange counties climbed 5.1% in November from a year earlier, according to a leading gauge.
The 12-month gain, seen Tuesday in the widely followed Case-Shiller index, is an acceleration from October, when L.A.-area prices rose 4.9%.
The faster increase bucked a trend seen in many big U.S. cities. The Case-Shiller index tracking 20 major metro areas increased 4.3% in November, the smallest gain since October 2012.
Those national numbers reflect a housing market that slowed in 2014 after home prices rose far faster than incomes in recent years. It's unclear if Los Angeles' faster price appreciation in November foreshadows a return to more robust gains.
Other measures show a continued slowdown.
Research firm CoreLogic DataQuick reported that the median home price in the six-county Southland rose 5.1% in December, the smallest 12-month gain since April 2012.
Still, the Case-Shiller index is widely considered the most reliable reading on home values.
The index, created by economists Karl E. Case and Robert J. Shiller, compares the latest sales of detached houses with previous sales and accounts for factors such as remodeling.
