NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — In a sign that the U.S. housing market is recovering, home prices rose for the second straight month in May, according to an industry report issued Tuesday.
Home prices climbed 2.2% compared with a month earlier, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index. Prices are still off 0.7% compared with May 2011, but that’s the lowest year-over-year decline in 18 months, according to David Blitzer, a spokesman for S&P.
The report gave support for industry experts who have been saying that the long-awaited housing market recovery is underway. But Blitzer sounded a note of caution.
“We need to remember that spring and early summer are seasonally strong buying months so this trend must continue throughout the summer and into the fall,” he said.
