Instant view: Case Shiller home prices flat in July

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Single-family home prices were unchanged in July on a seasonally adjusted basis as the housing market showed little sign of stabilizing, a closely watched survey said on Tuesday.

KEY POINTS: * Economists had expected a rise of 0.1 percent. * Compared with a year ago, the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas declined 4.1 percent. * A Reuters poll of economists forecast a 4.4 percent decline.

COMMENTS:

CHRISTOPHER LOW, CHIEF ECONOMIST, FTN FINANCIAL, NEW YORK:

"As expected, we still have slowly declining prices. The big picture answer is that the housing correction drags on.

"It's not too bad -- there is slow price appreciation in about half the cities. The other half are unchanged in price. There are no price declines in the month of July. So it's really just the year-on-year that's still dropping. And that could be worse."

PATRICK NEWPORT, ECONOMIST, IHS GLOBAL INSIGHT, LEXINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS:

"What's happening with housing is that it's showing some stabilization. It may be a combination of two factors. There is a temporary slowdown in foreclosures, and you also have low mortgage rates. But this might just be a temporary stabilization."

MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: U.S. stock index futures hold gains BONDS: U.S. bond prices hold losses FOREX: The dollar holds losses versus euro