Home prices remain on the rise in the Denver area and across the nation, according to one of the industry’s leading surveys, which found those prices to be approaching the record high for the area.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index found home prices in the Denver area increased 1.3 percent in July and are up 5.4 percent from July 2011.

Home prices in the 20 largest metropolitan areas in the nation also rose 1.6 percent in July, and are up 1.2 percent from July 2011.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index measures the change in the price of single-family homes by collecting data on actual sale prices. When a home is resold, months or years later, the new sale price is matched to its first sale price, and the difference between the two is used to create the index.

The increase in the index is one of a growing number of indicators that the national housing market has recovered and is gaining strength, said David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“The news on home prices in this report confirms recent good news about housing. Single-family housing starts are well ahead of last year’s pace, existing home sales are up, the inventory of homes for sale is down and foreclosure activity is slowing. All in all, we are more optimistic about housing. Upbeat trends continue,” Blitzer said in a release.

On HousingViews.com, a blog run by S&P, Blitzer singled out the Denver market as a bright spot.

“Dallas and Denver are closest to their record high prices – these experienced less boom and less bust than the others, so their recovery hasn’t had as far to climb. Moreover, with only about a 5 percentage point difference from the record high, we could see either one set a new record high sometime in the next year,” Blitzer wrote.

The starting point of the index is the value of homes in January 2000, which is given a base value of 100. The Denver market’s value in July hit 132.79 percent, which means there was a 32.79 appreciation rate over the last 12-plus years.

Home prices in Denver peaked in August 2006 at 140.28 and bottomed out at 120.21 in February 2009.

The value for the 20-city survey is 144.61, driven by dramatic increases in prices for homes in New York, Los Angeles and Washington.