National housing prices showed modest increases in 17 cities tracked by The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index, according to its Tuesday news release. A look at the top 20 markets shows that home prices in Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis rose by 2.5 percent in June, just ahead of the 1 percent national average increase, while Las Vegas was the only city to show a decline. Phoenix and Seattle were both flat.

Although housing prices appear to have rebounded from critical lows, other recent housing indicators, such as the expiration of tax credits, homeowners with conventional loans sliding toward foreclosure, and the influx of past homeowners now renting and likelihood of underwater homes to increase show that the housing crisis is not yet behind us.
In Minneapolis, for example, the number of new listings are down 9.4 percent when comparing the same three-month period from June to August to last year; pending sales are down 41.9 percent, while overall active listings are up 4 percent to 27,305, reports the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

The Case-Shiller data, however, reveal that home prices nationally rose 4.4 percent in the second quarter, after having fallen 2.8 percent in the first quarter. Home prices across the country are 3.6 percent above their levels from a year earlier.

"While the numbers are upbeat, other more recent data on home sales and mortgages point to fewer gains ahead," says David M. Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's. "Even with concerns about near-term developments, we recognize that the housing market is in better shape than this time last year."

So far, California's cities have moved from some of the hardest hit to three of the four leading cities based on year-over-year gains. San Diego, in particular, stood out with 14 consecutive months of increasing home prices. Las Vegas, the only city that fell, was down 0.6 percent. Compared to June 2009, Las Vegas prices are down 5.2 percent, as the city continues to be heavily affected by high unemployment and a significant number of foreclosures.

It is possible that more tax credits are coming, which could give an additional boost to the industry by keeping foreclosures off the market.

Take a look for yourself by visiting our Top 20 Markets' home prices gallery.

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