April Home Prices Not Good or Bad

The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values found home price increases for the 10- and 20-city composites for the first time in eight months in April.

In April, home prices across the United States returned to levels seen during the summer of 2003. However, both indices are lower than they were in April 2010, with the 10-city composite down 3.1 percent and the 20-city composite down 4 percent. Of the 20 cities surveyed, six had new lows for April, including Charlotte, Chicago and Las Vegas.

The Chicago Tribune reported the Chicago index declined 0.4 percent, with home prices down almost 35 percent from the peak in September 2006. Compared to April 2010, Chicago home prices are down 8.6 percent.

According to the creators of the index, the year-over-year gauge is a stronger indicator of price trends, Bloomberg reports. This gauge showed 19 of the 20 cities in the index had a year-over-year decline. Minneapolis fared the worst with an 11 percent drop.

"This month is better than last," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P. "However, the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer home buying season." 

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