U.S. home prices increased 0.7% in February compared to January and were up 4.6% compared to February 2014, according to Black Knight Financial Services' home price index (HPI) report.
The average home price for the month of February was $242,000, up from $241,000 in January. The slight increase brought the average home price to within 9.5% of the peak average of $268,000 recorded in June 2006.
States that saw the most home price appreciation in February, compared to January, included Washington (1.8%), California (1.5%), Oregon (1.4%), Colorado (1.3%) and Hawaii (1.2%).
States that saw the least home price appreciation in February included Connecticut (-0.6%), New Jersey (-0.5%), Vermont (-0.5%), Rhode Island (-0.2%) and New Hampshire (-0.2%).
Metropolitan areas that saw the most home price appreciation in February were San Jose, Calif. (3.2%); San Francisco (2.4%); Seattle (2.0%); Napa, Calif. (1.9%); and Santa Cruz, Calif. (1.8%).
Metropolitan areas that experienced the least home price appreciation included New Haven, Conn. (-1.3%); Atlantic City, N.J. (-0.9%); Torrington, Conn. (-0.9%); Worcester, Mass. (-0.8%); and Norwich, Conn. (-0.7%).
The report's findings are in line with the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly HPI, which shows that U.S. home prices rose 0.7% on a seasonally adjusted basis in February compared to January and were up 5.4% compared to February 2014.
It is also in line with CoreLogic's HPI, which shows that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased about 1.1% in February compared to January and were up about 5.6% compared to February 2014.
It should be noted, however, that CoreLogic's HPI uses a slightly different methodology to arrive at its findings.