Home prices improved in the second quarter of 2009, posting their first quarter-over-quarter gain in three years, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index, released yesterday.

The index, which covers all nine U.S. census divisions, recorded a 14.9 percent decline in the second quarter of 2009 compared with the second quarter of 2008, but an improvement over the record decline of 19.1 percent in the first quarter of the year. The 10-City and 20-City Composites recorded annual declines of 15.1 percent and 15.4 percent, respectively. These are also improvements from their recent respective record losses of -19.4 percent and -19.1 percent.

“For the second month in a row, we’re seeing some positive signs,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s. “The U.S. National Composite rose in the second quarter compared to the first quarter of 2009. Both the 10-City and 20-City Composites posted monthly increases, as did most of the cities. As seen in both seasonally adjusted and unadjusted data, as well as the charts, there are hints of an upward turn from a bottom. However, some of the hardest-hit cities, especially in the Sun Belt, show continued weakness.”

In spite of the recent positive data, the overall numbers remain weak, with all metro areas and the two composites posting negative annual returns, and 15 out of the 20 metro areas reporting double-digit annual declines, according to the report. Las Vegas and Detroit continue to be two markets that are struggling severely, and are the only two that declined in June and saw deterioration in their annual rates of return, according to the report.