Home prices mixed for August

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NEW YORK, Oct. 25 (UPI) -- U.S. home prices rose in 10 out of 20 monitored cities in a closely watched housing index, the S&P/Case-Shiller report for August said.

In the smaller, 10-city index, prices rose 0.2 percent month-to-month. In the 20-city index, the average was the same, up 0.2 percent, with gains posted in 10 cities.

That left half the index in the red month-to-month. Further, both indexes show prices sharply off from a year ago.

"There was some weakness in the monthly statistics, as 10 of the cities post price declines in August over July. And even though the annual rates are largely improving ... both composites are still negative," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee.

The 10-City Composite Index from August 2010 is down 3.5 percent, while the 20-City Composite over the past 12 months is down 3.8 percent.

Annual rates improved, however, in 16 of 20 cities in August compared with July. Blitzer called that "the good news."

From July to August, the sharpest gain was in Washington with prices up 1.6 percent. In Chicago and Detroit, prices rose 1.4 percent.

The sharpest drop was in Atlanta with priced down 2.4 percent from July. The second steepest drop was reported in Los Angeles with prices down 0.4 percent. Prices fell 0.3 percent in Seattle, Miami and Las Vegas.