U.S. home prices fell at slower annual pace in July, Case-Shiller says

The U.S. housing sector's long and winding road back to health continues. Home prices in 20 cities declined at a 13.3 percent annual pace in July -- a substantially smaller decline than June's annual pace -- according to the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price survey, released Tuesday.

Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index to fall 14.2 percent in July from a year earlier. The index fell 15.4 percent in June, 17.1 percent in May and 17.9 percent in April. Further, home prices in the 10-city index declined at a 12.8 percent annual rate in July; the 10-city index fell at a 15.1 percent annual rate in June, and at a 16.8 percent rate in May.