Tampa Bay area home prices fell by 1.2 percent in February to their lowest level since their peak in early 2006, according to a Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesday.

Bay area prices are down 6 percent from February 2010.

The bay area and nine other cities - Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Las Vegas; Miami; New York; Phoenix; Portland, Ore.; and Seattle - posted new index level lows for the third consecutive month, the index reported. Detroit posted a 1.0 percent increase in February over January, the only city in the index to gain monthly.

Property values in the 20 cities fell 3.3 percent from February 2010, the biggest year-over-year decrease since November 2009, the index reported. Washington, D.C., was the only region to post a year-over-year gain with a rate of 2.7 percent.

The Case-Shiller index is based on a three-month average, which means the February data included transactions in January and December.

In March, the median price of single-family homes in the Tampa Bay area was $112,900, according to the Florida Realtors.