Home Prices Rose 4 Percent In July
Housing market insiders got a boost in confidence Tuesday when a report showed that home prices increased in July for the fourth consecutive month. While prices are still down from year ago levels, the 4th straight increase does offer further evidence that prices have ceased a downward decline that has been nearly constant since the crisis began in 2008. According to the S&P / Case-Shiller home price index, which tracks prices in the nation's 20 largest cities, prices rose 0.9 percent from Jul to June, but were still about 4.1 percent lower than prices in July 2010.
Several cities in the index shows marked improvements in the housing market, such as Detroit, Michigan, where prices rose 3.8 percent on a month-to-month basis following a 5.8 percent improvement between May and June. Prices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, meanwhile were up 2.6 percent from June and prices in our nation's capital rose 2.4 percent. Las Vegas, Nevada was a sore spot in the report, as prices fell 0.2 percent, and Phoenix prices dropped 0.1 percent, month-to-month.
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