TAMPA - The real estate market in the Tampa Bay area is among the worst in the nation, but recovery may be a little closer.

Fourteen other markets fared worse, and Tampa appears to be near the bottom of home price depreciation, according to a report from California-based data company Clear Capital.

The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater area ranked No. 15 in the lowest performing major markets in the second quarter, the company said.

While prices haven fallen recently, the year-over-year picture was better.

Sales prices went down by 2.3 percent from the previous quarter but went up 1.6 percent from the same quarter last year.

Detroit was the worst-performing metro with a 10.7 percent decline from last quarter and 19.6 percent rise in prices from last year.

National year-over-year home price gains climbed 6.8 percent, while quarter-over-quarter losses fell 1.8 percent. Additionally, the national foreclosure saturation rate dropped to 27.8 percent, a 14 percentage point improvement compared to the same time last year.

"We continue to see sustained price growth throughout much of the country with yearly price gains reflecting the housing recovery off of last year's lows," Alex Villacorta, senior statistician for Clear Capital said in a statement. "The expiration of the tax credit at the end of April has certainly contributed to the growth of prices we are observing."

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804.