Home price index shows improvement

The latest Federal Housing Finance Agency national home price index shows that home prices increased 0.9 percent in May from April, according to CNBC’s Diana Olick, while falling 5.6 percent year-over-year. The 5.6 percent figure is an improvement, Olick said, because the April year-over-year drop was greater at 6.8 percent. Home prices are still down, she said, but are coming up, an indication there is more action on the lower end of the market. All regions saw annual price drops in May, according to the FHFA. Prices in the New York and New Jersey region were down 4.3 percent, and the South Atlantic region, which includes Florida, saw a 6.6 percent price drop.