Mountain states are leading the way as home prices edge closer to their 2006 peak, according to data from Black Knight Financial Services.
Black Knight reported Monday that the U.S. Home Price Index reached $263,000 in May, which is an increase of 1.1% from April and of 5.4% from May 2015. Currently, the index is only 1.8% off its peak set in June 2006.
Broken down by state and metropolitan area, it's clear that May's increase came largely due to home price expansion in the mountain states.
Idaho had the highest price gain of any state at 1.9%, followed by North Dakota at 1.8%. Other mountain states in the top 10 include Utah, New Mexico and Colorado.
At the metropolitan level, this mountain state influence became even clearer. Cheyenne, Wyo., and Fort Collins, Colo., ranked first on the list of top movers at the metro level, with a 2.1% increase each. Six other metropolitan areas in mountain states ranked on this list, including four cities in Idaho, one in New Mexico and one in Utah.
