<p>"In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last - April's numbers beat March," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said Tuesday in a statement accompanying the data.<br /><br />This index, prepared by S&P to reflect the evolution of housing prices in the 10 and 20 largest American cities, noted increases in April of 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.<br />But if compared with April 2010, home prices dropped 3.1 percent and 4 percent this April, so that the current home prices in the US are roughly at the same level as in the summer of 2003, long before the housing bubble burst.<br /><br />Seasonally adjusted numbers "show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer home buying season", Blitzer said. "It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather."<br /><br />In April, only seven of the 20 biggest metro areas showed monthly price decreases: Detroit, Las Vegas, Chicago, Tampa, Charlotte, Boston and Miami.<br /><br />On the contrary, if compared with 2010, only Washington, with a gain of 4 percent, registered an increase in home prices.<br /><br />"For a real recovery we would need to see several months of increasing home prices, large enough to shift the annual momentum to the positive side. In short, better news, but still a lot of questions and a long way to go," S&P's Blitzer said.<br /><br />Since reaching their highest point in summer 2006, home prices in the 20 largest US metro areas show an accumulated decline of more than 32 percent.</p>
<p>"In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last - April's numbers beat March," David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, said Tuesday in a statement accompanying the data.<br /><br />This index, prepared by S&P to reflect the evolution of housing prices in the 10 and 20 largest American cities, noted increases in April of 0.8 percent and 0.7 percent, respectively.<br />But if compared with April 2010, home prices dropped 3.1 percent and 4 percent this April, so that the current home prices in the US are roughly at the same level as in the summer of 2003, long before the housing bubble burst.<br /><br />Seasonally adjusted numbers "show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer home buying season", Blitzer said. "It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather."<br /><br />In April, only seven of the 20 biggest metro areas showed monthly price decreases: Detroit, Las Vegas, Chicago, Tampa, Charlotte, Boston and Miami.<br /><br />On the contrary, if compared with 2010, only Washington, with a gain of 4 percent, registered an increase in home prices.<br /><br />"For a real recovery we would need to see several months of increasing home prices, large enough to shift the annual momentum to the positive side. In short, better news, but still a lot of questions and a long way to go," S&P's Blitzer said.<br /><br />Since reaching their highest point in summer 2006, home prices in the 20 largest US metro areas show an accumulated decline of more than 32 percent.</p>