NEW YORK (AP) — Home prices dropped sharply in February, but for the first time in 25 months the decline was not a record, another sign the housing crisis could be bottoming.

The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index released Tuesday showed home prices in 20 major cities tumbled by 18.6% from February 2008. That was slightly better than January’s 19% and the first time since January 2007 the index didn’t set a record.

The 10-city index slid 18.8%, the first time in 16 months its decline was not a record.

But the good news was mixed. All 20 cities in the report showed monthly and annual price declines, but half recorded annual records. Prices fell by more than 10% in 15 cities, including Las Vegas, San Francisco and Phoenix. In fact, Phoenix home prices have lost more than half their value since peaking in July 2006.

Yet, nine of the metros — including Dallas, Denver and Boston — showed improvement in their yearly losses compared to the month before.

“We will certainly need a few more months of data before we can determine if home prices are finally turning around,” said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the S&P index committee.

Last week, data for March home sales also offered a conflicting picture of the housing market. Existing home sales fell 3% from February to March, while new home sales seemed to have hit bottom.

Prices in the 20-city index have plunged 30.7% from their peak in the summer of 2006, and the 10-city index has lost more than 31.6%.