Home prices rose last year, but the housing market recovery continued to lose steam.

The S&P Case/Shiller index of home prices in 20 major U.S. cities released Tuesday showed prices rose 4.5% in 2014. That compares with a 13.4% increase in 2013.

On a month-to-month basis, home prices in most big cities rose modestly from November to December. But an index of prices nationwide edged lower, extending a slowdown that's been going on for months.

"The housing recovery is faltering," said David M. Blitzer, director of indexes at S&P Dow Jones. "While prices and sales of existing homes are close to normal, construction and new home sales remain weak."

Blitzer added that new homes are being built at a rate of 1 million homes per year, a level normally seen during a recession.

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The weakness in home prices comes despite a number of factors that would normally support home sales, such as job growth, low mortgage rates and rising levels of consumer confidence.

Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow , said the slowdown in prices is a sign the housing market is returning to "normal" following a period of "runaway appreciation."

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The news for homeowners in Atlanta, Miami and cities across the West Coast was more encouraging. Home prices in those markets were up more than 5% in the past year.

Meanwhile, home prices in the Midwest and Northeast had didn't grow as fast. Boston's 3.8% increase was the largest among cities in the Northeast.

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