By Christina Mlynski

• June 25, 2013 • 8:36am

The housing sector seems on the mend with home prices continually rising upward.

Prices inched upward 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis from March to April, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

From April 2012 to April 2013, home prices also rose 7.4%.

"With this morning's very favorable Case-Shiller report, the housing sector shows continued improvement although from a low base," explained analysts for Econoday.

They added, "The Federal Reserve's quantitative easing program clearly is having positive impact in the housing sector. However, short supply of houses on the market also is contributing to the rise in prices."

However, the index is well below pre-crisis levels, down 11.7% and roughly the same as the January 2005 index level.

Nonetheless, it is important to note that home prices have increased over the past 15 months.

Regionally, the April home price gain was led by the Pacific region, increasing 17.1% month-over-month. The weakest region was New England, down 0.2% from the prior month.

The FHFA’s home price index is calculated using monthly home sales price information released by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

http://www.housingwire.com/news/2013/06/25/fhfa-home-prices-continue-rising-upward