According to the latest S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, April experienced a seasonal boost in home prices. Both the 10- and 20-City Composites were up 0.8% and 0.7% month over month, the first rise in eight months.

“In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last - April’s numbers beat March,” says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. “However, the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the Spring-Summer home buying season. It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather.

The best faring market was the Metropolitan Washington area, where prices rose 3 percent in April and are up 4 percent from a year ago.

On the opposite side of the spectrum was Minneapolis, Minnesota. Prices were down a staggering 11.1 percent down from April 2010.

As of April 2011, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas home prices are lower than where they were 11 years ago. These conditions are breeding grounds for foreclosures. Despite this down market, however, the Case-Shiller default index shows that defaults have declined since November.

Tightened lending standards are also making it difficult for buyers to enter the market and boost demand, despite low interest rates.

Blitzer reports, "Only seven cities experienced lower prices compared to 18 in March. However, the seasonally adjusted figures saw less dramatic improvement. The annual rate of change for the 10-City remained the same at -3.1%; whereas the 20-City fell further from -3.8% reported for March to -4.0% for April."

The bottom line is that April showed progress in home prices, but a real recovery will require several months of sustained home prices.