Home prices report signals rebound after 18-month decline

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- An industry report said Tuesday the U.S. housing market is showing signs of a turnaround, following a steady decline in home price gains over the last 18 months.

The CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index showed an increase of 3.2 percent in July, equaling June's increase and signaling a potential upward swing in the housing market.

The report showed home prices in Phoenix have grown nearly 6 percent this year, while increases of more than 4.5 percent were seen in Las Vegas and Charlotte. Seven cities in the composite showed year-to-year increases in July.

Overall, that composite showed a 2 percent annual gain, a slight decline from June.

"Year-over-year home prices continued to gain, but at ever more modest rates," Philip Murphy, managing director and global head of index governance at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement.

"Home price gains remained positive in low single digits in most cities, and other fundamentals indicate renewed housing demand," the index report said. "[The yearly] change in existing home sales was positive in July for the first time in a number of months."