Home Prices Stage 'Impressive Turnaround'

New York, NY, Aug. 25, 2009--The prices of single-family homes in 20 major cities rose a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in June, the second increase in a row after falling every month for three years, according to the Case-Shiller home price index.

Prices rose in 18 of the 20 cities in June. Only Detroit and Las Vegas saw falling prices in June from May. In the past year, prices are down in all 20 cities.

Prices rose 0.5% in May from April, the previous monthly Case-Schiller data showed.

Home prices are down 15.4% in the past year, an improvement from the 19% year-over-year drop in January. Prices are down 31% from the peak in mid-2006.

For the second quarter, the national Case-Shiller index rose 2.9%, the first quarterly increase in three years. The quarterly index is down 14.9% in the past year.

"This is an impressive turnaround," said Robert Shiller, creator of the index, in an interview on CNBC.