The National Association of Realtors says home prices posted gains in the second quarter, a sign that the beleaguered housing market is nearing its bottom. In the report released by the group, the median sale price in the 2nd quarter was $174,000 up 4 percent compared to the first quarter but still have fallen 15.6 percent from the same period in 2008 which was $167,300

Compared to the 2nd Quarter last year, median home prices dropped in 129 of 155 metropolitan areas the group tracks. Thirty-nine states experienced sales increases from the first quarter and nine states were higher than a year ago.

A number of declines can be attributed to an increase in the percentage of foreclosures and short sales which covered 36 percent of all transactions during the said quarter.

The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in Florida registered the largest drop with 52.8 percent to $84,000 Prices also fell 35% or more in Phoenix(Arizona), Riverside(California) and Las Vegas while Davenport, Iowa, had the biggest gain with 30.6 percent to $113,200 followed by Cumberland Maryland with 22 percent.

The Saginaw(Michigan) posted the lowest priced market in the nation where the median home sold for $55,700 during the quarter which is a 30.6 percent drop over the same period last year. The most expensive market was Honolulu, with a median price of $569,500 but 10.5 percent below last year.

Sales increased to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million, from 4.58 million in the first quarter, but were still about 3 percent below a year ago.