WASHINGTON — The D.C. region’s housing market is one of the most expensive in the nation, but price appreciation in the Washington metro area remains the smallest among the nation’s biggest cities.

The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index for June, released on Tuesday, reports the median price in the Washington area’s market was up just 2 percent from a year earlier, tying the New York City area, and behind a 2.5-percent annual gain in the Cleveland area.

The average among the nation’s 20 largest cities was 5.1 percent.

The fastest rising home values remain in the West, led by Portland, Oregon, where the median price in June was up 12.6 percent from a year earlier.

“In the strongest region, the Pacific Northwest, prices are rising at more than 10 percent. In the slower Northeast, prices are climbing a bit faster than inflation,” said David Blitzer, managing director of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Prices in Seattle were up 11 percent.

San Francisco and San Diego both had annual price gains of 6.4 percent in June.

Nationwide, the median home price in July was $244,100, according to the National Association of Realtors.

The median price in July in Arlington County was $625,950, according to Long & Foster Real Estate. It was $570,000 in the District. Both are more than double the national median price.