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New York (AP)

Twin Cities home prices up slightly in national index

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Home prices in the Twin Cities market climbed slightly in October, making for six straight months of gains, according to new numbers released Tuesday.

Seasonally adjusted numbers from Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index show home prices in the Minneapolis area climbed 0.2 percent in October. Prices are still down 8.7 percent compared to a year ago.

Without the seasonal adjustment, home prices in Minneapolis dropped 0.5 percent from September, and are down 8.4 percent from October 2008.

Nationally, home prices rose for the fifth month in a row in October, but the recovery continues to be uneven with only 10 of the 20 metro areas tracked showing gains, according to the seasonally adjusted numbers.

The index is now up 3.4 percent from its bottom in May, but still almost 30 percent below its peak in April 2006.

San Francisco and Detroit posting the largest increases. Dallas recorded a flat reading for the month, while Tampa and Chicago had the largest declines.

"Coming after a series of solid gains, these data are likely to spark worries that home prices are about to take a second dip," David Blitzer, chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor's, said in a statement. That happened in the early 1980s, he said, and the current housing recovery appears more solid.

The federal government has stepped in with an extraordinary level of support this year for the housing market. Home price gains since the summer reflect the rush of homebuyers trying to close their deals before the original expiration date of a federal tax credit. The Nov. 30 deadline was extended last month to April 30.

Besides a credit of up to $8,000 for first-time buyers, Congress expanded the program to include homeowners who have lived in their current properties for at least five years. They can now claim a tax credit of up to $6,500 if they relocate.

The Federal Reserve is also buying up $1.25 trillion in mortgage-backed securities to help keep interest rates at historical lows.

(MPR's Bob Collins contributed to this report.)