Real estate prices posted gain in May

Residential real estate prices gained 1.6% in May, representing the largest one-month increase since July 2005, according to an analysis by Integrated Asset Services in Denver. The May increase in the IAS360 House Price Index followed a gain of 0.4% in April. The index was down 10.5% from May 2008. “Two month’s worth of positive data hardly signals a turn in the national housing market, but we have to be encouraged by what we’re seeing in several important counties and neighborhoods,” Integrated Asset Services president and chief executive Dave McCarthy said in a statement. The index reported gains in May for nine of the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan statistical areas — a notable change from two months ago when Denver was the only metro area in the country with positive performance. The IAS360 House Price Index tracks monthly changes in the median sale price of single-family residences across the United States. The index collects data from 15,000 neighborhoods that combine to report on the changes in 360 counties, nine census divisions, four regions, and the nation overall. By region, the Northeast was up 3.2% in May, the Midwest was up 1.9%, the South was up 1.1%, and the West was up 0.9%.