AP () — — A closely watched index shows that home prices rose nationally for the sixth straight month in November, with 14 of 20 metro areas tracked showing improvements.
The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday inched up 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted reading of 145.49. The index was off 5.3 percent from November last year.
Economists estimated the index fell 5.1 percent compared to November last year.
Phoenix and San Francisco posted the highest month-to-month gains. New York and Chicago had the largest declines.
The index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still 30 percent below its peak in April 2006. Recent price gains have been fueled by a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers.
