Tampa Bay area home prices were flat from April to May, the first time in nearly three years that housing values didn’t fall month to month, according to the S&P Case Shiller home price index.

While the region’s home prices declined 20.8 percent from May 2008 to May 2009, Case Shiller identified a change in the behavior of the market since prices peaked in July 2006.

“The pace of descent in home price values appears to be slowing” said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s.

Tampa Bay wasn’t alone. On the 20-city index, only 4 cities showed price declines from April to May: Las Vegas, Phoenix, Miami and Seattle.

On the year-to-year measurement, all 20 cities showed home price drops, Phoenix leading the list with a plunge of 34.2 percent. Las Vegas was second worst for price declines.
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For the past 5 months, Realtors have also noted a price stabilization trend in the Tampa Bay area. Several Florida economists predict home prices will stay relatively flat for at least a year and won't appreciate with any strength or regularity until 2011.