Every one of the 20 largest U.S. states experienced rising home prices from March to April with values edging up 1.5%, Lender Processing Services said Monday when releasing its U.S. Home Price Index.

US home prices continue to climbFrom last year, April prices soared 8.1% above 2012 levels, the mortgage analytics firm said.

The report is the result of a survey of April transactions from 16,000 different U.S. ZIP codes.

The average price of $217,000, is up 4.5% from the start of 2013  only 18.2% away from the June 2006 peak level of $265,000.

Aside from Bend, Ore., every one of the top metro areas with significant price growth is located in California.

The West Coast saw substantial price improvements overall, with home prices rising more than 2% in California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington.

San Francisco topped the list in terms of price growth with values rising 3.6% in March.

The author of this article is: Kerri Ann Panchuk

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