Denver home prices rose in August for the sixth straight month and are now close to where they were a year ago, according to Standard & Poor’s closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index.

Home sales prices in Denver rose 1.0 percent in August from the prior month, according to the index report, released October 27th. This follows a 1.5 percent rise in July, a 2.5 percent month-over-month rise in June, a 1.3 percent increase in May and a 1.5 percent rise in April. Denver home prices were down 1.9 percent in August compared with the same month in 2008.

Denver’s annual decline in August was the 2nd smallest of any of the 20 U.S. cities tracked by the Case-Shiller Index.

“Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline in home price values continues to improve” David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in the recently released statement.

“While many of the markets remain down versus this time last year, the relative rate of decline has shown some real improvement,” Blitzer said. “California, in particular, has seen some real positive prints in recent months. We see this general trend whether you look at the as-reported data or the seasonally adjusted figures.”

“Once again, however, we do want to remind people of the upcoming expiration of the Federal First-Time Buyer’s Tax Credit in November and anticipated higher unemployment rates through year-end. Both may have a dampening effect on home prices.”