Economy, Home Prices | featured news

Home prices rose in nearly 60 percent of U.S. cities in the first quarter of this year, as the housing market started to stabilize thanks to billions of dollars in federal spending.

While the 20-city home price index rose 0.3 percent from November to December, the index was off 3.1 percent from December a year ago.

Dow futures were up 30 points. The S&P Case-Shiller home-prices indexes showed U.S. home prices decreased at a slower annual rate in October, but prices were flat compared to September.