Home prices increased 4.4 percent in the second quarter of 2010 and now are 3.6 percent above their year-earlier levels, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, released yesterday.
The index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 3.6 percent improvement in the second quarter of 2010 compared with the second quarter of 2009.
The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded annual returns of 5 percent and 4.2 percent, respectively, in June. Following 16 consecutive months of improvement in their annual rates of return, June’s figures were the first to moderate from their prior month’s pace, indicating a possible deceleration in home price returns.