April was another difficult month for residential real estate in Charlotte, with home prices falling to their lowest levels in four years, according to a report released Tuesday.

Meanwhile, other major markets posted a boost in home prices, fueled by the spring homebuying season.

Overall, the news from the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Index reflects cautious optimism about a turnaround for major markets, where U.S. home prices dipped to their mid-2002 levels in March. Average home prices rose to summer-2003 levels in April. Case-Shiller's 20-market composite rose 0.7 percent from March to April.

But Charlotte was among six major markets -- including Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, Miami and Tampa -- showing new lows in April. In Charlotte, prices dropped 0.3 percent from March, and remained down 6.6 percent over the year, the report found.

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