Home prices were down again in May, but a few regions of the country experienced a ever-slight uptick in prices from the previous month, giving officials at the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) a chance to be cautiously optimistic in the press release announcing the numbers.

"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," said OFHEO Director James B. Lockhart in the release.

Nationwide, the OFHEO report showed home prices in May were down 0.3 percent from April and down 4.8 percent from May 2007. The three Census Divisions mentioned by Lockhart were the only ones out a total of nine that did not report a monthly decrease.

The Pacific Division, which includes Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California, reported a 0.3 percent increase in home prices from April to May, although the region documented a 14.5 percent decline in home prices from May 2007. The East North Central Division, which includes Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, reported a 0.1 percent monthly increase, but still a 3.7 percent year-over-year decrease in home prices. The West North Central Division, which includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri, reported no monthly change in home prices.

It will be interesting to see how these home price numbers correlate to the Q2 foreclosure numbers RealtyTrac will be releasing Friday. We'll be posting those numbers as soon as they are available.