After rising sharply over the past two years, home price increases are now becoming smaller, more balanced, and more widespread. In fact, for the first time since July 2012, none of the 100 largest metropolitan areas experienced a price gain of 20 percent or more, according to the most recent Price Monitor from Trulia. That means, home price increases are normalizing and becoming more stable after years of volatility. It also means more homeowners – who may have been waiting to put their homes up for sale because they expected prices to continue to surge – may now be encouraged to sell. This is a positive sign for housing, as rising for-sale inventory and sustainable price increases would bring even more balance to the market. Asking prices, according to the release, rose at their slowest pace in 13 months, climbing 8 percent year-over-year. And, though an 8 percent increase is still historically above average, it is slower than it has been in recent months. Also, only four metro areas saw declining prices, which sets a post-recession low and indicates that – in addition to being more sustainable – home price improvement is becoming more widespread. More here.