Oct. 27--Signs keep showing that the local housing market could be bottoming out.

The rate of home price improvement in the Twin Cities between July and August was greater than in any of 19 other large metro areas in the U.S., according to a widely watched housing report released this morning.

Prices in the Twin Cities during August were up 3.2 percent compared with July, according to the SP Case-Shiller Home Indices, which track home prices in 20 markets across the country.

When the results were adjusted for seasonal factors, San Francisco edged out the Twin Cities in showing the greatest rate of home price improvement between July and August. But both markets saw improvements of more than 2 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis -- a sign of relative strength, according to the report.

At the same time, prices in the Twin Cities remained weak compared with last year. The August reading, for example, was down 13.7 percent compared with the same month last year.

Nationally, the Case-Shiller survey painted a similar picture. August marked the seventh consecutive month of improvements in prices on a month-to-month basis. But compared with the same month last year, prices in August across the 20 cities were down about 11 percent.

"Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline in home price values continues to improve," said David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard and Poor's, in a statement.

"Once again, however, we do want to remind

people of the upcoming expiration of the Federal First-Time Buyer's Tax Credit in November, and anticipated higher unemployment rates through year-end," Blitzer said. "Both may have a dampening effect on home price."

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Copyright (c) 2009, Pioneer Press, St. Paul, Minn.

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