Home Prices Approach 10% of Peak Levels

Home price appreciation slowed further in August as the housing market inched closer to its peak from 2006.

Based on data from August real estate transactions, Black Knight Financial Services' Home Price Index (HPI) edged up just 0.1 percent from July, remaining nearly flat at $242,000. August's rate of appreciation was half of July's already slow 0.2 percent gain in prices.

Annually, the index was up 4.9 percent from last year compared to a gain of 5.1 percent in July.

As of the latest report, Black Knight says the national HPI is 10.1 percent off of its peak of $268,000 in June 2006.

Of the 20 largest U.S. states, nine saw home prices pull back from July to August, led by Virginia (-0.5 percent), Georgia (-0.4 percent), and Ohio and Pennsylvania (-0.3 percent each).

On the other hand, growth continued strong in Michigan (+0.6 percent), New York (+0.6 percent), and Texas (+0.5 percent). Widening the scope to all states, Nevada (+0.6 percent) and South Carolina (+0.5 percent) also make the list for biggest monthly increases.

Out of those 20 states, both Colorado and Texas hit new highs once again, Black Knight reported. The indices for those states measured $275,000 and $199,000 in August, respectively.

At the local level, eight of the nation's 40 largest metros posted new peaks in August, including four in Texas: Austin ($261,000), Dallas ($198,000), Houston ($204,000), and San Antonio ($183,000). The remaining metros were spread out, including Denver ($288,000), Honolulu ($511,000), Nashville ($203,000), and San Jose ($755,000).

For the second straight month, Detroit led metro area home price gains, posting a 0.9 percent improvement over July.

At the bottom of the spectrum were Atlantic City, Milwaukee, and St. Louis, where prices fell 0.7 percent month-over-month.