Home prices continue to edge upward, kindling the small flicker of hope that perhaps we’ve reached a turning point in the housing crisis. The IAS360 House Price Index (HPI) released today by Denver-based Integrated Asset Services (IAS) shows a 1.2 percent increase in national home prices for the month of June. With June’s gains–the fourth consecutive positive month–IAS’ U.S. housing benchmark advanced 2.7 percent for the full second quarter 2009, virtually offsetting the 2.6 percent decline seen during the first three months of the year. But even with recent gains, the housing sector has a long ways to go to get back on track. The IAS360 HPI is still down 16.7 percent from its high in June 2007. Keeping with the upward trend in May, all four U.S. census regions reported positive numbers for June 2009.

In the Northeast, property values were up 1.9 percent. The Midwest saw an increase of 1.8 percent. Home prices rose 1.2 percent in the South, and even the battered Western region of the country reported a gain of 0.4 percent. While values showed improvement in neighborhoods across the country, most upper-end counties remained mired in a deep slump. IAS reported that price declines continued to accelerate in June for Putnam County, New York; Morris County, New Jersey; and Howard County, Maryland. Dave McCarthy, president and CEO of Integrated Asset Services, commented, “I think that a lot of this valuation disparity reflects the immediate effects of Washington’s housing-rescue plan. Everything so far has helped spur sales of lower-priced homes, which, at least in the short run, is producing winners and losers.” Among the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) covered in IAS’ report, only the Las Vegas housing market continued to slide, with a drop of another 1.8 percent for the month of June. Boston and Chicago followed solid May numbers with increases of 2.9 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively. Home prices in the big California MSAs also fared well, with Los Angeles gaining 2.2 percent, San Francisco up 1.7 percent, and San Diego improving 1.4 percent. “The improvement in the more traditional neighborhoods is encouraging, but it’s easy to think there may be trouble lurking further up the food chain,” McCarthy said. “If there is to be another decrease in home prices, my bet is it’s going to come from the top.”