(CNBC) Prices fell in the first quarter to new post-crisis lows, but prices were up in March from February for the first time in seven months.
The increase is the latest evidence of a slow recovery taking shape in the troubled housing market.
The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index showed that prices increased in 12 of the 20 cities it tracks.
Still, the major indexes ended the first quarter at new post-crisis lows, the report said. For the first quarter, prices were down 2 percent, compared to a 3.9 percent decline in the last three months of 2011.
Prices increased in Tampa and Miami — two of the hardest hit markets.
Las Vegas — the nation's worst market — so no change in prices. Prices dropped sharply in Detroit, Chicago and Atlanta.
The increases partly reflect the beginning of the spring selling season. The month-to-month prices aren't adjusted for seasonal factors.
The overall index of 20 cities was essentially unchanged in March, after falling 0.8 percent in February.
