Home prices in Boston rose over the past year, but at a much slower pace than in other major housing markets, according to widely used index that tracks real estate markets across the country.

Boston housing prices were 1.6 percent higher in October from a year earlier, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, released Wednesday. The average increase in 20 metropolitan areas was 4.3 percent — the largest year-over-year increase in 2½ years — with home prices in 17 of the 20 cities included in the index rising faster than in Boston. Prices fell in Chicago and New York.