As national home prices recover from the peak, Texas and Colorado are already busy setting new highs, data from Lender Processing Services, Inc. (LPS) revealed. In June, national home prices rose to $229,000, representing a 1.2 percent gain from May, and a sharp 8.4 percent increase from a year ago, according to LPS’ Home Price Index (HPI). When compared to the index’s 2005 peak of $270,000, prices are still down 15.2 percent. However, Texas and Colorado moved ahead of the national trend and hit new highs of $256,000 and $182,000, respectively. Out of the 40 large metro areas LPS tracks, three in Texas reached new highs: Austin ($237,000), Dallas ($182,000), Houston ($181,000). Denver also established a new high-water mark of $265,000. At the same time, San Antonio is just 0.3 percent below its August 2007 peak. Overall, nearly half, or 19, of the 40 large metro areas experienced double-digit annual gains, LPS reported. [Read this article]