NEW YORK (AP) - A closely watched index shows home prices posted their first quarterly increase in three years, signaling the housing market has turned a corner.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller’s U.S. National Home Price Index released Tuesday rose nearly 3 percent from the first quarter, though was still down almost 15 percent from the second quarter last year.
Home prices are at levels not seen since early 2003.
The monthly index of 20 major cities increased 1.4 percent from May to June, the second straight month the index registered a gain. It was still 15 percent below June a year ago.