- DSNews - https://dsnews.com -

LPS: Home Prices Up in July, New England Struggling to Keep Pace

Home prices saw a slight boost from June to July, according to the latest home price index (HPI) report from ""Lender Processing Services"":http://www.lpsvcs.com/Pages/default.aspx (LPS).

[IMAGE]

Based on transactions recorded across the country in July, the HPI experienced a 0.2 percent bump up to $204,000, LPS reported Wednesday.

While the boost is a relatively small month-to-month increase, it represents a more significant 4.3 percent increase from the beginning of 2012 and a 1.8 percent increase from July 2011.

[COLUMN_BREAK]

In terms of states that saw the largest HPI increases in July, the biggest movers were primarily located in the West: Nevada (1.4 percent), Alaska (1.3 percent), Arizona (0.9 percent), Maryland (0.8 percent), and California (0.7 percent).

However, a number of states also saw downward HPI momentum, including several states in New England: Massachusetts (0.7 percent), Wisconsin (0.6 percent), Vermont (0.5 percent), Connecticut (0.5 percent), and Rhode Island (0.4 percent).

The breakdown in metro areas looked similar, with western cities â€" Sacramento, Las Vegas, Anchorage, and San Francisco â€" posting the largest increases, while cities in the Northeast â€" Torrington (Connecticut), Springfield (Massachusetts), Norwich, and Boston â€" didn't fare as well.

The data also revealed that while the national HPI in July was 23.2 percent below its June 2006 peak, some states are close to bouncing back completely from the housing crash. For instance, all of Texas' major metros are within 4.0 percent of their peaks, and the state as a whole is only 2.0 percent down from its peak HPI.

Of the 20 largest states listed in the report, Florida has the longest way to go to recovery. LPS reported that the Sunshine State was 41.5 percent down from its peak, and its metros reported HPIs up to 44 percent less than their peaks.