The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported a 10th consecutive quarter of house price increase, with the fourth quarter of 2013 showing 1.2% increase. From the 4th quarter of 2012, there was a 7.7% rise. As for the month of December, there was a 0.8% increase from November. Nevada and California Looking at the details, Nevada showed the highest Q4 2012 - Q4 2013 rise in terms of percentage, reading 24.3%. Apparently, the drying desert of Las Vegas is getting bid up. However California coming in second at 19.5% added more weight to the national index. The FHFA report noted: "15 of the 20 (MSA) metropolitan statistical areas with the highest appreciation rates were in California." (4-Quarter Price Change in Homes by State: click to see full size. Source: FHFA) Recouping after the Bubble Burst Also, when you look at the trend of house prices, you can see that since 2011, the market for homes has clawed back more than half of the dip since the sub-prime mortgage crisis. (Monthly House Price Index for the US: click for full size. Source: FHFA)