Home prices in May improved over prices in April, according to a Tuesday, July 27, report released by Standard & Poor's which shows that the housing market has found its bottom and is stabilizing at a lower level.
The annual growth rates in 15 out of 20 metropolitan areas around the United States improved in May, with the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index up 5.4% in its 10-city composite and up 4.6% in its 20-city composite.
However, the index increases are somewhat misleading, according to S&P's index chief.
"While May's report on its own looks somewhat positive, a broader look at home price levels over the past year still do not indicate that the housing market is in any form of sustained recovery," said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee, in the home price index news release for May.
"Since reaching its recent trough in April 2009, the housing market has really only stabilized at this lower level," Blitzer continued. "The two composites have improved between 5% and 6% since then, but this is no better than the improvement they had registered as of October 2009. The last seven months have basically been flat."
