Home prices increase for 4th consecutive year

CoreLogic, a provider of information, analytics and business services, released its Home Price Index (HPI) for June 2012 showing a 2.5% increase in home prices nationwide when compared with June 2011. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1.3% in June 2012 compared with May 2012. June’s numbers, which include distressed sales, mark the fourth consecutive increase in home prices nationally on both a year-over-year and month-over-month basis.

The CoreLogic pending HPI indicates that July home prices, including distressed sales, will rise by at least 0.4% on a month-over-month basis from June 2012 and by 2.0% on a year-over-year basis from July 2011. The CoreLogic Pending HPI is based on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data that measure price changes in the most recent month. 

"Home prices are responding positively to reductions in both visible and shadow inventory over the past year," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "This trend is a bright spot because the decline in shadow inventory translates to fewer distressed sales, which helps sustain price appreciation."

"At the halfway point, 2012 is increasingly looking like the year that the residential housing market may have turned the corner," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "While first-half gains have given way to second-half declines over the past three years, we see encouraging signs that modest price gains are supportable across the country in the second-half of 2012."

Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: Arizona (+13.8%), Idaho (10.4%), South Dakota (+10.1%), Utah (+8.3%) and Wyoming (+7.7%). 

The five states with the greatest depreciation were: Alabama (-4.8 %), Connecticut (-4.0%), Illinois (-3.4%), Georgia (-2.9%) and Delaware (-2.8%).