Is there an end in sight? Today, a government report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight was released that said home prices in May declined by 4.8 percent over the past year. Are we getting near the point when prices are more appetizing for real estate investors again or do we have a long way to go?

The Pacific Division, see states it encompasses below, actually showed a price increase, which was the first since March 2007.

Also, from April 08 – May 08 the Middle Atlantic and East North Central Division showed a 0.1% increase and the West North Central Division stopped losses to remain even at 0.0%.

“It is very hard to draw conclusions from a one-month number, especially in these uncertain times; but the numbers in the Pacific, East and West North Central Divisions may be good signs,” OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart said. “The HPI is based upon mortgages made by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which, on average, are generally higher quality than those in other indexes.”

I think it’s a bit optimistic, because the report shows that the Pacific division was the hardest hit at -14.5% over the past year, so the 0.3% is just a slight bounce of the large decline.

Here’s the division breakdown:

Pacific Census Division: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California

Mountain Census Division: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico

West North Central: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri

West South Central: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana

East North Central Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio

East South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama

New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut

Middle Atlantic: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida

If you’re interested in reading the full housing report, it’s here (PDF file).