Home Prices Gain 5.5% in June Index

Once again, home price increases pumped the brakes in June, slowing down from the bigger gains recorded in the last two years.

Black Knight Financial Services reported Monday a 5.5 percent annual increase in its Home Price Index (HPI) for June, bringing the index to a value of $241,000 based on transactions throughout the month.

June's improvement compares to increases of 5.9 percent, 6.4 percent, and 7.0 percent recorded in May, April, and March, respectively.

On a monthly basis, the HPI edged up 0.8 percent, slowing down from increases of 0.9 percent in both April and May.

As of the latest index, prices remain 10.4 percent off their national peak of $268,000 in June 2006.

Out of the 20 largest states, all posted month-over-month increases, with Florida leading at 1.2 percent. New Jersey and Texas followed at 1.1 percent each, with New York (0.9 percent) and California (0.5 percent) rounding out the top five.

Expanding the view to all states, Nevada led the pack, reporting a 1.4 percent monthly price increase. North Carolina and Washington, D.C., trailed all of the other states, though both saw continued gains at a monthly rate of 0.1 percent.

All of the 40 largest metros also experienced monthly growth, led by Dallas, which gained 1.2 percent to see a new peak of $196,000.

Looking at all metros, Nevada once again took the top spot, with Reno posting a 1.9 percent increase.

Black Knight's report is typically issued the day before S&P Dow Jones Indices releases its own monthly price measure. Tuesday's Case-Shiller index is projected to show a seasonally unadjusted 8.4 percent increase in home prices from last June, which would be down nearly a full percentage point from May's rate of growth.