Minneapolis-St. Paul home prices in December climbed 12 percent compared to the same month a year a ago, according to Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller index -- which tracks home prices in 20 major U.S. markets.

Nationally, property values increased 6.8 percent from December 2011, the biggest year-to-year gain since July 2006, according to Bloomberg News.

Minnesota Public Radio says the metro finished 2012 with their strongest gains in more than a decade, but prices are still roughly 26 percent below their peak.

A new real estate index released Tuesday from the University of St. Thomas found that home sales in the Twin Cities were up 11 percent last month compared to a year earlier, WCCO reports. The average price of a home was also nearly 4 percent higher than January of 2012.

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However, experts are concerned with the lack of inventory on the market.

"Single-family homes are still the hottest," Brandon Hedges, an Eagan-based real estate agent, told Fox 9. "Starting to see townhomes come back -- been quite a while. Condos are lagging in most cases, but it depends on price and location."

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The annual spring Parade of Homes in the Twin Cities, which typically helps boost the housing industry, will kick off on Saturday and run through Mar. 24.

The Star Tribune says there are 374 new homes on the tour -- up 22 percent from last year.