Boston home prices nudge up

As house prices around the country slumped again in July, Boston prices went in the opposite direction and nudged up 0.2 percent, according to the Standard & Poor's/ Case-Shiller Home Price Index released today.

In contrast, prices declined between 1 percent and 3 percent between June and July in several cities, including Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington.

Over the past year, prices in the Boston metropolitan area declined 5.4 percent, compared with double-digit annual declines in 11 of the 20 cities that Case-Shiller tracks. The 20--city index, which includes Boston, dropped 0.9 percent in July and 16.3 percent over the past year.

“There are signs of a slow down in the rate of decline across the metro areas, but no evidence of a bottom," David M. Blitzer, chairman of S&P's index committee, said.

The Case-Shiller index is among the most closely-watched indicators of the housing market because it tracks repeat sales of the same house over time.
(By Kimberly Blanton, Globe staff)