Washington-area home prices continued their rise in April while other major markets continued to falter, a new report shows. Prices in the region increased by 4 percent from April 2010, the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index says.
It was the only major market in the top 20 to post an annual increase. Minneapolis had the worst month, with home prices dropping by 11.1 percent from a year earlier. After Washington, the next “best” market was Los Angeles, where prices in April fell by 2.1 percent.
But the report, which was released Tuesday morning, does have a positive spin — literally. Sales prices increased in most markets from March to April, an indication that markets are turning around. However David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices, noted the shift could just be due to the spring/summer season ramping up.
“It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather,” he said.
