U.S. home prices increased 0.1% in January compared to December and were up 4.6% compared to January 2014, according to Black Knight Financial Services' Home Price Index (HPI) report.
Leading the pack was New York with an average month-over-month increase of about 0.8%. That brought New York home prices to within 9.4% of their peak in July 2006.
Year over year, California has made the strongest comeback, in terms of home prices. The average home price there is now within 20% of its peak in May 2006, whereas other hardest-hit states, such as Arizona, Nevada and Florida, remain 30% or more off their local peaks.
Connecticut saw its home prices drop 1.1%, year over year, making it the only one of the 20 largest states to see a yearly decline. Florida also saw its home prices decline on a year-over-year basis.
In terms of metropolitan markets, San Jose, Calif., was the leader with a 1.3% month-over-month increase in January and an 11.3% year-over-year increase, while Las Vegas saw its home prices decline for a second consecutive month.