The Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Indexes experienced their seventh month of steady improvement in August. The 10-city composite was up 1.3 percent and the 20-city composite was up 1.2 percent month-over-month. On a year-over-year basis, the indexes were down 10.6 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively; an improvement from the 19 percent declines that had characterized their performance nadirs. According to S&P, home price levels are now back around where they were in Autumn 2003.

Although every metro area was still in a year-over-year decline—with 12 still in double-digit declines—S&P index committee chairman David Blitzer noted that the relative rates of decline have been improving. Still, he qualified that observation with another one.

“We see this general trend [of improvement] whether you look at the as-reported data or the seasonally adjusted figures. Once again, however, we do want to remind people of the upcoming expiration of the Federal First-Time Buyer’s Tax Credit in November and anticipated higher unemployment rates through year-end. Both may have a dampening effect on home prices,” Blitzer said.

Dallas logged the best year-over-year performance of any metro area, with a decline of just 1.2 percent. Denver was relatively close behind, with a 1.9 percent decline, while Cleveland was down 2.8 percent.

Those declines are fairly miniscule, considering how steep they had been, but clearly some areas are not headed out of the woods yet. Las Vegas represented the other side of the coin from Dallas, with a whopping 29.9 percent decline. Also hit hard were Phoenix, down 25.1 percent, and Detroit, down 22.6 percent. Not-so-fun fact: Hundreds of foreclosed houses at auction in Detroit last week failed to sell, even with the minimum bid set at just $500.

But it’s not necessarily as bleak as all that—both Detroit and Phoenix had positive month-over-month returns for at least the last two months. Of all the metro areas, only Las Vegas actually had monthly declines for both July and August.

Actually, Detroit’s 1.9 percent month-over-month rise made it one of the best performers for August, following Minneapolis’s rather impressive 3.2 percent jump (on the heels of its 4.8 percent upsurge in July) and San Francisco’s 2.8 percent increase (it was up 3.3 percent in July).

The housing situation looks to be on the mend, but as Blitzer pointed out, there are some potentially game-changing developments on the horizon. They’re unlikely to send us into another extended tailspin, but the real question is how much of a drag they will be on the ongoing recovery in home prices.