The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices posted gains for the fourth consecutive month, which prices in Chicago showing particular strength.

Chicago and other Midwest cities are reporting particularly strong returns in the latest Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, the monthly report by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) that is the leading measure of U.S. home prices.

The newest report, which surveys home prices for August, found monthly prices from July were up nationally by 0.2 percent for both the 10- and 20-City Composites, the fifth consecutive positive month for the indices. Additionally, prices were up in Chicago by 1.4 percent, which is tied with Detroit as the second highest monthly gain among the 20 cities surveyed. In addition, the Windy City was one of only 10 cities to post positive monthly results.

David M. Blitzer the chairman of the S&P Indices Index Committee, said he was particularly impressed with the gains in the Midwest.

“The Midwest is one region that really stands out in terms of recent relative strength,” Blitzer said. “Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis have all posted very sharp monthly increases going back to May. These markets were some of the weakest during the crisis.”

For the 10- and 20-City Composites, yearly prices from August 2010 are down 3.5 and 3.8 percent, respectively, and Chicago prices are down 5.8 percent, but Blitzer said that even at those levels, year-over-year homes may be showing some improvement.

“In the August data, the good news is continued improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices,” Blitzer said. “In spring and summer’s seasonally strong period for housing demand, we cautioned that monthly increases in prices had to be paired with improvement in annual rates before anyone could declare that the market might be stabilizing. With 16 of 20 cities and both Composites seeing their annual rates of change improve in August, we see a modest glimmer of hope with these data.”