WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. home prices gains accelerated in April even as sales have stumbled, a sign the coronavirus outbreak has had little impact on real estate values.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city home price index climbed 4% in April compared with a year earlier, the largest gain since December 2018, up from 3.9% in March.

Home sales have fallen sharply for three straight months to their lowest annual pace in nearly a decade in May. Yet the supply of available houses for sale has also declined, compared with a year ago, forcing remaining buyers to bid up prices.

"The price trend that was in place pre-pandemic seems so far to be undisturbed, at least at the national level," said Craig Lazzara, managing director of S&P Dow Jones Industries. "Prices in 12 of the 20 cities in our survey were at an all-time high in April."

Sales of existing homes are likely to pick up in coming months, however. A measure of signed contracts to buy homes soared 44% in May, a record increase. And sales of new homes also rebounded in May.

Phoenix posted the biggest price gain with an increase of 8.8%, compared with a year earlier. Seattle followed with 7.3% and Minneapolis with 6.4%. Prices from the Detroit metropolitan area were not included in the 20-city index because of delays at the recording office in Wayne County, which includes Detroit.

The Case-Shiller index is composed of a three-month average of home prices, so this month's data includes figures from February, March and April. 

“Conservatorships protect the young adults who are suddenly expected to make significant life decisions when they turn 18 but are unable to do so,” said Norah Rogers, pro bono administrator for Nelson Mullins. “We are very careful not to take away anyone’s legal rights. Instead, we want to help the young adults who are incapable of making those important decisions and ensure the people who have their best interests at heart are making them.”

Under Legal Aid’s new partnership, attorneys will assist in conservatorship cases for young adult family members who have acute special needs or who are medically incapacitated due to severe autism, nonverbal autism, cerebral palsy, traumatic brain injuries and chromosomal conditions. Nelson Mullins’ staff will train members of the ACC TN and their volunteer pro bono attorneys on conservatorship proceedings. Once trained, the attorneys will begin accepting screened and eligible pro bono cases from Legal Aid Society.