Two new reports show that U.S. home prices continued their skyward vault in August, as supply shortages and strong demand combined to keep buying pressure elevated. Single-family home prices across the United States rose at a record 19.84 percent annual pace in August, slightly above the July rate of 19.75 percent, according to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national composite home price index (pdf), released on Oct. 26. That’s the largest annual price gain in the 27-plus year history of the series. “The U.S. housing market showed continuing strength in August 2021,” Craig Lazzara, managing director and global head of index investment strategy at S&P DJI, said in a statement. Single-family home prices in 20 key urban markets rose by 19.7 percent in August year-over-year, down from 20.0 percent in July, which was the largest annual price increase in the history of the 20-city composite measure. At the same time, the 10-city …