In October, Paul Flack and his family moved from Bicknell, in southern Utah, to Heber City, where they purchased an entry-level home for $162,000.

Flack said he was shocked by the area's high housing prices.

"Despite increasing our income by several thousand dollars, we ended up actually having less take-home pay because of the housing," Flack said. "We had to cut way back on all of our spending. It probably set us back about five years."

Nationally, U.S. home prices increased 12.02 percent in the year ended Sept. 30, representing a two percentage point decline from the previous four-quarter rate of roughly 14 percent.

And while housing prices remain hot in areas like Arizona and Florida, for the first time since 2003 the list of the top 20 cities showing the highest appreciation rates do not include any Nevada cities, indicating those markets may be cooling.

Las Vegas has fallen to a No. 77 ranking, down from No. 21.

"Appreciation rates in excess of 25 to 30 percent," Leventis said, "definitely can't be sustained over the long term."

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

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E-mail: danderton@desnews.com