The housing market in many US cities is performing better than recent national data would suggest, leading some analysts and real estate brokers to express cautious optimism about the prospects for a recovery.

List prices rose in 24 of 26 cities tracked by Altos Research in May, with San Francisco, Washington and San Jose, California, showing the biggest gains. New York and Las Vegas were the only two cities in the index where prices declined.

(READ the Financial Times story in CNBC)