Home prices have risen for four straight months, but the rate of growth has slowed, according to new figures tracked through the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index.
Prices inched up 0.6% in July compared with June. But compared to the same month a year ago, the 20-city HPI is up 3.2%.
"Home prices crept forward in July," said S&P index committee chairman David M. Blitzer. "Ten of the 20 cities saw year-over-year gains and only one -- Las Vegas -- made a new bottom as the impact of the homebuyer tax credit continued to fade away."
Going forward, Blitzer sees home prices stabilizing.
The S&P/Case-Shiller HPI monthly numbers reflect a three-month rolling average that is not seasonally adjusted.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently reported that its seasonally adjusted HPI fell 0.5% from June to July. The FHFA measure is not as broad based as the Case-Shiller one and relies strictly on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchase mortgage transactions.
