Home prices in the nation's major metropolitan areas rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in October from September, according to the just-released S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices report.

The best way to describe the trend, says David Blitzer, chairman of S&P's Index Committee, is that:

"The turn-around in home prices seen in the spring and summer has faded with only seven of the 20 cities seeing month-to-month gains, although all 20 continue to show improvements on a year-over-year basis. All in all, this report should be described as flat."

Over the past year, prices have fallen 7.3% in the 20 major metro areas the index tracks.

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