Signs of stability emerge in home prices

MSN Money

May 29, 2012

Signs of stability emerge in home prices

The Standard & Poor’s Case/Shiller Home Price Index of 20 cities for March fell 2.6% from a year ago, as expected by economists surveyed by Reuters, after a 3.5% decline in February. But month-over-month, home prices rose in most major U.S. cities for the first time in seven months, up a modest 0.09%.

Some markets, including Charlotte, Denver, Dallas and even Phoenix, saw prices gain on a year-over-year basis.

Prices hit new lows in Atlanta, Chicago, Las Vegas, New York and Portland, Ore.

There have been modest signs of improvement in recent reports on existing-home sales and housing starts.

Homebuilding stocks were generally higher. The Philadelphia Housing Sector Index ($HGX +1.26%) was up 3.14 points to 129.04.

Tags: Home Prices, Housing Prices, trends in housing prices