Dive summary:

• Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller home-price indexes are considered dependable indicators of the health of the U.S. housing market, and the latest numbers indicate the patient is definitely getting better.
• The 20-city index in the report was up 7.9% from a year earlier, and that was the best 12-month gain since things collapsed in the housing market, S&P said.
• The other widely watched index, the 10-city number, was up 7.3 for the same period, and both indexes were up 1% from December when adjusted for seasonal factors.

From the article:

Markets that were hard hit by the housing bust have been among those with the strongest growth lately. ...