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Index shows home prices rose for 3rd month in July

Home prices rose for the third month in a row in July, new data Tuesday showed, more proof a fragile housing recover is underway.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index of 20 major cities rose 1.2 percent from June to a reading of 143.05. Though home prices are still 13.3 percent below July a year ago, the annual declines have slowed in all 20 cities for the sixth straight month.

The index is down about 33 percent from the peak in mid-2006. Home prices are now at levels not seen since the third quarter of 2003. And prices in Las Vegas, Detroit and Seattle are still falling.

Prices in Las Vegas are down more almost 55 percent from their peak. In August, almost 80 percent of home resales were either a foreclosure or a sale below the value of the mortgage, the National Association of Realtors said last week.

The Detroit housing market is being reeling from layoffs in the automotive industry. Seattle, by contrast, was one of the last areas to enter the downturn so prices there have yet to hit bottom.

"We do need to be cautious in coming months to assess whether the housing market will weather the expiration of the federal first-time buyer's tax credit in November, anticipated higher unemployment rates and a possible increase in foreclosures," said David M. Blitzer, committee chairman for the Case-Shiller index.

First-time homeowners can qualify for a tax credit worth 10 percent of the purchase price, up to $8,000, but it expires at the end of November. More than a dozen bills to extend the credit have been introduced in Congress, but it's unclear if lawmakers want to continue subsidizing the real estate market.

Still, there are clear positive trends: 13 metro area posted at least three straight months of price gains.

The Case-Shiller indexes measure home price increases and decreases relative to prices in January 2000. The base reading is 100; so a reading of 150 would mean that home prices increased 50 percent since the beginning of the index.