Home Prices Rise by More Than 12 Percent; Where Are the Hot Markets?
Following its predicted forecast, the housing recovery continues to push forward as we move from spring to summer. CoreLogic recently released its April CoreLogic HPI report showing an increase in home prices nationwide of 12.1 percent on a year-over-year basis in April 2013 compared to April 2012.
This monumental change represents the biggest year-over-year increase since February 2006 and the 14th consecutive monthly increase in prices nationally. On a month-over-month basis, including distressed sales, home prices increased by 3.2 percent in April 2013 compared to March 2013.
“House price growth continues to surprise to the upside with an impressive 12.1 percent gain year over year in April,” says Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Increasing demand for new and existing homes, coupled with low inventory, has created a virtuous cycle for price gains, most clearly seen in the Western states with year-over-year gains of 20 percent or more.”
Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were:
• Nevada (+24.6 percent)
• California (+19.4 percent)
• Arizona (+17.3 percent)
• Hawaii (+17 percent), and
• Oregon (+15.5 percent)
“Although the nature of real estate as a cyclical industry implied a recovery on the other
side of the correction, the pace of improvement in the fundamentals and the shift in demand
vs. supply over the last 12 months has exceeded the expectations of most everyone,” says
Budge Huskey, president and CEO, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “While values remain
well below their peak on a national level, implying additional room for growth, year-over-year
increases in many markets are dramatic and the significant drop in inventory has triggered a
rapid shift from a buyer’s to seller’s market.”
