Case-Shiller: 13 of 20 metros see monthly gains

Index falls 4% year-over-year in April

After a “double dip” in March, U.S. home prices saw a slight seasonal boost in April, according to the latest Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller National Home Price Indices report released today.

The April indices averaged price data from February, March and April. The 20-city composite index rose 0.7 percent on a monthly, nonseasonally adjusted basis in April, to 138.84 — the first such increase in eight months.

On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the composite remained essentially flat at -0.1 percent. The indices have a base value of 100; indices above 100 indicate appreciation of a typical home in a subject market since January 2000.

Thirteen of 20 metro areas tracked showed monthly gains, including: Atlanta; Cleveland; Dallas; Denver; Los Angeles; Minneapolis; New York; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; and Washington, D.C. Atlanta and Seattle posted the highest monthly increase at 1.6 percent each.

In a statement, David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at S&P Indices, called the numbers “a welcome shift,” but cautioned that “the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer homebuying season. It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather.”