A real estate industry group says home prices rose in 40 percent of U.S. cities in the fourth quarter of last year, as massive federal spending helped the housing market show signs of stability.

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday that the median price for previously occupied homes sold rose in 67 out of 151 metropolitan areas in the October-December quarter versus a year ago. That's a sharp improvement from the third quarter, when prices rose in only 20 percent of cities surveyed.

The national median price was $172,900, or 4.1 percent below the fourth quarter last year. That was the smallest year-over-year price decline in more than two years.