Index adds to spate of upbeat housing news

NEW YORK (Deseret News) — There were fresh signs Tuesday that home prices in much of the country are stabilizing and the housing market is on the mend.

Home prices in May posted their first monthly increase since the summer of 2006, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index. Prices rose from April in 13 of the cities tracked, notably Cleveland, Dallas and Boston.

The news follows upbeat reports showing sales of newly built and existing homes rose in June for the third straight month. And new home construction, while still weak, is the best it's been since the fall.

The news: The 20-city home price index rose 0.5 percent from April to a reading of 139.84, but was still 17.1 percent below May a year ago.

The 10-city index rose 0.4 percent from April to a measure of 151, but was off 16.8 percent from May last year. It was the fourth consecutive month both indexes indicated prices have turned the corner and are heading back toward positive territory.

The 20-city index has lost more than 32 percent since its peak reading of 206.52 three years ago. That means home prices are back to mid-2003 levels.

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