This is the Case-Shiller report (very important, unlike my previous link). This is the best housing price index we have, and more weight should be given to its results.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities rose in August for a third consecutive month, bolstering the case that an economic recovery is at hand.

The S&P/Case-Shiller home-price index climbed 1 percent from the prior month, seasonally adjusted, after a 1.2 percent increase in July, the group said today in New York. From a year earlier, the gauge fell 11.3 percent, less than forecast.

Rising home sales, due in part to government programs including the first-time buyer credit and efforts to lower borrowing costs, have helped stem the slump in property values that precipitated the worst recession since the 1930s. Sustained gains in household spending, the biggest part of the economy, may be harder to come by as joblessness mounts.

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The gains over the last three months have been the strongest since the three months ended in December 2005.