House Prices Rise in Des Moines.

The end of the housing crisis? Hardly. But this is still good news for Des Moines.

The Des Moines metropolitan area was one of 28 areas nationwide to see its median home sale prices climb in the third quarter, squeaking 1 percent higher to $155,400, a National Association of Realtors report showed on Tuesday.

Median sale prices fell in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs-Omaha, Davenport, and Waterloo-Cedar Falls. In all, 120 metro areas nationwide saw price declines. Four had no change.The report also showed that sales of Iowa's existing homes for the third quarter fell 16 percent, more than double the national decline.

Iowa's sharp sales drop has some real estate leaders wondering whether the Iowa housing market has hit bottom.

"We're at a turning point in a number of markets," said Paul Bishop, the association's research managing director. "There are a lot of uncertainties in the economy, but it looks like we could be along the bottom."

Nationwide, home sales fell 7.7 percent to 5.04 million, with declines in 32 states.

Well go Des Moines! At least some cities are doing well.