Nationwide, home-price appreciation was strongest in the Pacific and Mountain regions, while states in the South had the lowest appreciation.

"There is no evidence here of prices topping out," Patrick Lawler, OFHEO chief economist, said in a prepared statement. "On the contrary, house-price inflation continues to accelerate, as some areas that have experienced relatively slow appreciation are picking up steam."

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan recently cautioned that home prices could fall. However, fears about the rapid run-up in national housing prices are largely overblown, according to a report released earlier this month by the Mortgage Bankers Association of America.

"We've only seen nominal house prices fall in a couple of quarters in the last 40 to 50 years nationally," said Douglas Duncan, MBA's senior vice president and chief economist. "So we think it is unlikely to see a national decline."

The OFHEO house price index measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties.

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