New York, Dec 27 (IANS): US home prices slipped in October due to seasonal weakness but were still up from a year earlier, indicating that the most-battered economic sector remains on the track of sustained recovery.

According to a fresh report released by S&P Dow Jones Indices Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home prices index for 20 major metropolitan areas, a leading measures of US home prices, rose 4.3 percent in the 12-month period ending in October, reported Xinhua.

The 20-city index eased 0.1 percent in October from September, but still rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.

"Annual rates of change in home prices are a better indicator of the performance of the housing market than the month-over-month changes because home prices tend to be lower in fall and winter than in spring and summer," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

"Looking over this report, and considering other data on housing starts and sales, it is clear that the housing recovery is gathering strength," he added.

Also according to the report, average home prices across the US have been back to their autumn 2003 levels.