Home prices increased 0.3% from July and 5.5% year-over-year in August, putting them just below their precrisis peak, according to Black Knight Financial Services.
Black Knight's Home Price Index reached a value of $253,000 in August. This figure remains only 5.3% below the peak reached in June 2006 before the crisis. August's HPI figure also rested 27% higher than the low the market reached in 2012.
New York State and its metropolitan areas dominated the rest of country. The state reported the highest growth in HPI at 1.8%, well above runners-up New Hampshire and Texas at 0.7% each. Illinois, meanwhile, experienced the greatest compression in HPI at a decline of 0.5%.
On the metropolitan level, all of the top 10 cities in terms of highest HPI growth were located in New York. The top three — Utica, Glens Falls and Watertown — all saw 1.9% growth. Illinois similarly dominated the list of cities with the biggest shrinkages, with seven out of the top 10. Decatur, Ill., ranked last in the nation, displaying a 0.9% drop in HPI for August.
