Massachusetts, Georgia Lead in April Price Gains

Just ahead of Tuesday's S&P/Case-Shiller Indices report, Black Knight Financial Services released its own Home Price Index (HPI) for April, recording a slight dip in price increases compared to March.

According to Black Knight, the company's latest HPI—based on April transactions—registered $236,000 for the entire United States, a monthly increase of 0.9 percent compared to March's 1.0 percent gain.

Compared to last year, Black Knight's HPI was up 6.4 percent, representing a slowdown from 7.0 percent in March.

Home price increases have come down from their highs of the last few years, owning in part to rising inventory and greater stability at the local level in many markets.

Among all states, the biggest HPI gains were recorded in Georgia and Massachusetts, each of which posted monthly increases of 1.6 percent. They were followed by Maryland at 1.4 percent and then a handful of states all at 1.3 percent, including Delaware, Michigan, Colorado, Illinois, Washington, Idaho, and Oregon.

While no states reported depreciation in April, Arizona saw prices steady at an index of $192,000, making it the only state in Black Knight's report not to see a monthly increase in prices.

At the metro level, seven markets posted new price peaks, including newcomer Nashville at $200,000.

Out of the remaining six markets hitting new peaks in April, four were in Texas: San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and Austin. The final two were San Jose and Denver, with the California market leading all others at an HPI reading of $743,000, thanks to the state's low inventory levels.