Home prices continued to tumble in April, falling 18.1% from a year earlier -- but the change from March narrowed sharply, indicating that housing markets may be starting to turn.

While existing home sales are not a true barometer of new home sales, there was at least a bump up in existing home sales for May. This rise of 2.4% to 4.77 million annualized units compares to 4.66 million units annualized in April and compares to Dow Jones consensus estimates of 4.80 million. Before you celebrate too much that you can finally get rid of your I.O. loan, there is a reason here to suspect that the rise is there that isn’t necessarily the biggest news for sellers.

Home prices fell sharply in February, but at a slower pace than in January, according to the Case-Shiller home price index released Tuesday by Standard & Poor's.
Home prices in 20 major cities fell 2.2% in February after a record 2.8% decline in January, S&P reported.

U.S. home prices rose 1.7% in January compared with December, the Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday. It was the first monthly increase in a year.

S&P Case-Shiller national index down 18.2% in final three months of 2008.