Home prices in 20 U.S. cities continued to climb in September, while a gauge of values nationwide exceeded the pre-recession peak, according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller data released Tuesday.

The pace of appreciation in 20-city property values has been around 5 percent for two years, with the advance in September pushing the group’s national index above the pre-recession peak in 2006 before the housing market collapsed. The recovery in home equity has allowed more Americans to put their properties up for sale and relocate as the labor market improves. A recent surge in mortgage rates, if sustained, is a risk to the market and may cool home-price appreciation.

“The new peak set by the S&P Case-Shiller CoreLogic National index will be seen as marking a shift from the housing recovery to the hoped-for start of a new advance,” David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, said in a statement. “Other housing indicators are also giving positive signals.”