Tax season market strength wasn’t done with the auction in May — wholesale prices remained elevated for the third straight month.

And according to NADA’s latest Guidelines report, strong seasonal demand served to lift NADA’s used-vehicle price index to a new high of 126.8.

This is 0.5 percent better than the previous record set just a month earlier.

NADA reported wholesale prices over the first five months of 2014 are considerably stronger than what was seen last year, with prices year-to-date sitting 2.9 percent higher than they were through May 2013.

According to the report, prices remained high last month, but fell by 2.2 percent compared to April.

It pointed out this outcome is “slightly better” that what has been seen during May in the past, leading to an increase in prices when seasonally adjusted.

The slight depreciation in May resembled similar trends seen during the period in 2011 and 2012, “where declines for small and mid-size cars exceeded the overall market average, while losses for other segments were at or below the industry mean,” NADA UCG senior director of vehicle analysis and analytics Jonathan Banks explained in the report.

For example, collectively, subcompact, compact and midsize car prices fell by 2.8 percent in May.

Combine the past two months, and prices for these segments have declined by an average of almost 4 percent.

This is in part due to tax season price inflation as this number makes up half of what the three segments gained in price in the first quarter. Luxury compact cars and large SUVs also saw larger-than-average declines this past month, falling by 2.4 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.

“The decline in small luxury cars prices wasn’t unusual; however, the month marked only the second time since early 2011 that large utility prices dropped by more than 2 percent,” Banks said.

Lastly, prices for large pickups began to dip in May, falling by 1 percent. That said, prices for this segment remain 12 percent above last year’s level during the time.

All other segments fell within 0.5-percentage point of the industry average decline of 2.2 in May, according to NADA data.