As we noted this morning, there is a small respite from the recent glut of melancholic economic news: home prices inched upwards. Yep, on Tuesday, the widely-watched Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index posted a rise of .7% for April. Let’s put that in context with this chart. No, that’s not just an ink smudge.

It was the first time it’s gone up in eight months, but we’ll have to see if the trend continues to see whether it’s an actual recovery or just “the sunshine effect,” as home sales typically get stronger in the spring and summer.

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices [Standard & Poor’s]
April Seasonal Boost in Home Prices According to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices (PDF) [Standard & Poor’s]

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