Home prices rose 1.1% in June after a 1% increase in May as values in 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller house price index registered monthly gains.
The June HPI released Tuesday morning shows that prices have registered increases for three consecutive months after hitting a record low for this housing recession in March.
Overall, house prices are down 4.5% from June 2011 on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.
S&P's index committee chairman David Blitzer said the June report is sending "mixed signals for the recovery in home prices." He noted the majority of cities are seeing improved annual rates of price appreciation.
However, there have been large revisions in the sales figures from Detroit, New York, Tampa and Washington D.C. over the past two months. "These markets reported a lot more closings in prior months," Blitzer said.
More revisions are expected and Blitzer stressed that it's difficult to tell how it will impact prices. Sales of distressed and foreclosed properties put downward pressure on prices, while sales by homeowners have an upward bias.
Peter Muoio, senior principal at Maximus Advisors, warned not to read too much into the 1.1% increase in prices in June. He stressed that the number of sales is very low and prices generally rise during this time of the year. "Fundamentally, the housing market remains weak,” Muoio told reporters during a teleconference.
He expects prices will "bounce along the bottom" for several years while the inventory of foreclosed homes and seriously delinquent loans are substantially reduced.
