Lender Processing Services (LPS) said today that its Home Price Index (HPI) was up a slight 0.1 percent in October.  The index for the month was $232,000, a dollar amount that was virtually unchanged from October.  The October index was 8.8 percent above the level in October 2012 ($213,000), and 8.2 percent higher than at the end of last year ($214,000.)  U.S. prices now stand down 14.1 percent from the peak of $270,000 reached in June 2006.

The LPS index is based on October residential real estate transactions and the company's own loan level databases.  It represents the price of non-distressed sales by accounting for price discounts for bank-owned real estate (REO) and short sales.

States with the largest month-over-month appreciation were Rhode Island (+0.8 percent) and Massachusetts, Georgia, and New York, each of which posted a 0.7 percent gain.  Prices decreased by 0.4 percent in Oklahoma and 0.3 percent in Washington, Tennessee, and New Mexico.

Among the largest metropolitan areas the biggest price gains in October were in Boston and Miami, each up 0.9 percent and Atlanta and Provo, Utah where prices rose 0.8 percent.  The largest declines were in two Washington cities, Kennewick and Spokane, each down 0.7 percent followed by San Louis Obispo, California at -0.6 percent.  

San Antonio and Houston established new price peaks in October at $174,000 and $187,000 respectively.  Two of the cities that were among the first to break through pre-recessing peaks have now fallen off from those levels.  Denver has declined 0.7 percent from its July 2013 peak of $287,000 and Dallas is down 0.1 percent from its peak of $184,000 established in September.