The housing market remains on course to recovering from the worst crisis in decades as home prices rose for the first time in three years.

According to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index, prices of single-family homes registered an annual increase of 0.6%, a first since December 2006. Housing experts attributed the slight increase to the tax credit program that is set to expire this week.

Despite the annual growth in home prices, data showed that home values in 11 of the 20 cities monitored by the index are still in the doldrums. S&P index committee chairman David Blitzer warned that “home prices could decline further before experiencing any sustained gains.” He stressed that it is “too early” to tell if the housing market is on its way to a full recovery.

San Francisco posted the biggest annual gain as home prices in the city went up 12%. The housing markets in Los Angeles, San Diego, and Washington also showed good performances, with property prices rising by more than 5%.

In Las Vegas, however, things are looking bleak for local realtors. The “Entertainment Capital of the World” suffered a 15% decline in home prices, the largest annual price drop in the 20 cities monitored by the index. Housing markets in Charlotte, North Carolina; New York City; Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; and Tampa, Florida, also remain in a slump, with home values falling to their lowest levels since hitting the peak in 2006 and 2007.

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