Home prices in the Standard & Poor’s (S&P)/Case-Shiller 10-City and 20-City Composite Home Price Indices, declined 10.6% and 11.3%, respectively, in August 2009 compared to August 2008. While down from last year’s level, August marks the seventh month of year-over-year improvements for the indices, which track the price path of typical single-family homes located in major metropolitan areas. In 19 of the 20 metropolitan areas, Cleveland being the only exception, price decline improved in August from July. “Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline in home price values continues to improve,” said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee. “We see this general trend whether you look at the as-reported data or the seasonally adjusted figures.” From the peak in the second quarter of 2006 through the trough in April 2009, the 10-city composite is down 33.5% and the 20-city composite is down 32.6%, the report said. Of individual metropolitan areas, Las Vegas had the biggest rate of annual decline at nearly 30%. Dallas had the lowest decline, 1.2%. On notable cities include Denver (1.9% decline), Charlotte (8.6% decline), Minneapolis (13.7% decline), San Francisco (12.5% decline). Write to Austin Kilgore.