Temporary Rise in Case-Schiller Index

Home prices rose for a fourth straight month in most major U.S. cities in July, buoyed by the peak buying season. But the housing market remains depressed, and prices are expected to decline in the coming months.

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed home prices increased in July from June in 17 of the 20 cities tracked. Prices rose sharply in Minneapolis and Chicago; prices in two cities hit hardest by the housing crisis—Las Vegas and Phoenix—declined.

The index measures prices compared with those in January 2000 and creates a three-month moving average. The July data is the latest available.

Analysts cautioned that the price increases are temporary, and not evidence of a housing recovery. Home sales have declined in each of the months in which prices rose.