While home price appreciation slowed across the U.S. during the fourth quarter of 2005, several regions continued to experience double-digit price growth, according to Freddie Mac’s Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI). The Mountain states led the nation in annual home price appreciation last quarter, with home values rising 19.4% at an annualized rate compared with the third quarter of 2005. The Pacific states, which include Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, followed with an annualized gain of 18.2%. During the last five years, home prices have risen 97.8% in the Pacific region, according to the CMHPI.

Nationally, home values rose 13% over the last 12 months. According to the report, job growth helped spur price appreciation in the regions with the largest home price increases. Most states in the Southwest and Midwest experienced single-digit year-over-year price appreciation during the fourth quarter of 2005.