Two new reports show U.S. home prices continued their skyward vault in July, as supply shortages and strong demand combined to keep buying pressure high. Single-family home prices across the United States rose at a record 19.7 percent annual pace in July, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national composite home price index (pdf), released on Sept. 28. That’s the largest annual price gain in the history of the series, which goes back around 30 years. “July 2021 is the fourth consecutive month in which the growth rate of housing prices set a record,” Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P DJI, said in a statement. “The National Composite Index marked its fourteenth consecutive month of accelerating prices with a 19.7 percent gain from year-ago levels, up from 18.7 percent in June and 16.9 percent in May,” he added. Single-family home prices in 20 …