Good news for homeowners, especially those thinking about selling: Home prices across the country and here in the Bay State area rose more than expected in July, according to data released Tuesday from the S&P/Case-Shiller Housing Index.

In the Boston-metro area, the seasonally adjusted price index (which measures the average sale price for single-homes) for July this year was 153.38, up from 152.07 in July 2011 and down from 155.30 in July 2010. 

The numbers are calculated based on the repeat sale of existing single-family homes, where the baseline of 100 is the average price as of January 2000.

The bottoming out of the index in this area was in April 2009. 

According to data from Trulia.com, a real estate site, the average listing price of homes in Middlesex County for the week ending Sept. 19 was $543,938, boosted by high prices in certain ZIP codes, particularly in the Lexington, Sudbury and Concord area. 

“The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values in 20 cities increased 1.2 percent from July 2011, the biggest 12-month advance since August 2010,” Bloomberg News reported this morning.

Do you think housing prices in your neighborhood have stabilized or are heading up? Are you happy with the current value of your home? Comment below!