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(AP) -- The St. Louis housing market is getting a boost: A new report says the region's home prices rose 4.3 percent in January from the same month in 2012.

The real estate analysis firm CoreLogic released the report Tuesday. The firm says the data offer more evidence that a housing recovery is finally under way in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that excluding distress sales, prices in January were up 3.6 percent.

The St. Louis numbers still lag behind the national average. Nationally, CoreLogic says home prices rose 9.7 percent, the biggest yearly increase since April 2006.

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