Case-Shiller Home Price Index Rises for Second Straight Month, First Time In Almost 3 Years

SpPyS-fA93I/AAAAAAAALGw/fJyStxTtAng/s1600-h/caseshiller.jpg">STRE57O31Y20090825">NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prices of U.S. single-family homes rose for the second consecutive month in June, exceeding expectations and adding to evidence that the three-year housing slump is easing, Standard & Poor's reported on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case-Shiller composite indexes of 10 and 20 metropolitan areas both rose 1.4 percent in June from May, almost three times the 0.5 percent increases of the month before. May's increases were the first in nearly three years (see chart above, SHomePrice_History_082562.xls">data here).

Optimism over a housing recovery blossomed last week after reports showed rising confidence among homebuilder and sales of existing homes rose in July for the fourth consecutive month. Economists expect the sector's recovery could help the nation emerge from recession and further stabilize financial markets that have suffered their worst crisis since the 1930s.

MP: The increases in May and June for the Composite-20 Index marks the first time in almost three years of back-to-back monthly increases, and the June increase was the largest monthly increase since October 2005 (see chart above, SHomePrice_History_082562.xls">data here).

Originally posted at Carpe Diem.