WASHINGTON — U.S. home prices rose slightly in July from a month earlier, according to a government index, further evidence the housing market is stabilizing.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday prices rose 0.3% in July from the prior month, but June's price increase was revised down to 0.1% from 0.5%.
The index is still 4.2% below last year's levels and 10.5% off its peak from April 2007. It is based on loans owned or guaranteed by mortgage finance companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The index has declined less than other housing market measurements because it excludes the most expensive homes and some of the subprime loans that have fallen into foreclosure.
The report "supports other evidence that the three-year long decline in prices has come to halt," Paul Dales, U.S. economist with Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. But he cautioned that "rising foreclosures and the fragile economic environment suggest that further gains in prices will be modest and patchy."
Associated Press (09/22/2009)
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