LPS: December Prices Climb 5.8% from Year Ago

Home prices in December were mostly flat from the month before, according to the latest Home Price Index (HPI) released by ""Lender Processing Services"":http://www.lpsvcs.com/Pages/default.aspx (LPS).

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LPS' index shows prices climbed 0.1 percent in December, staying at a rounded-off $207,000. November's HPI was also reported at $207,000.

While December's index was little changed from the prior month, it was up 5.8 percent from $196,000 in December 2011. January 2012's index was also an estimated $196,000, meaning the year-to-date change throughout 2012 was also 5.8 percent.

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According to LPS, prices are still down 21.9 percent from their peak of $265,000 in July 2006.

Nevada saw the largest upward movement in prices in December; the Silver State reported a 1.3 percent gain month-over-month. Rounding out the top five movers were Florida (1.0 percent), New York (0.6 percent), and California and Arizona (each reporting 0.4 percent improvement).

On the other hand, Alaska experienced the most depreciation in December with a reported price decline of 0.8 percent. Michigan (0.7 percent decline) and Ohio (0.6 percent decline) followed, along with Nebraska, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Illinois (all with 0.4 percent price declines).

Florida was home to eight of the top 10 ""biggest movers"" on the metro level--down from November, when all of the top metros were in the Sunshine State. The two outsiders were Las Vegas (which saw 1.6 percent price growth, making it the top mover in December) and Vallejo, California (which broke in near the middle with 1.1 percent growth).

Anchorage, Alaska, turned up as the biggest loser in December, posting a 0.9 percent decrease in home prices. It was followed by Cleveland, Ohio; and Olympia and Spokane, Washington; which all saw 0.8 percent declines.