CoreLogic: Home Prices up 6.8% Year over Year
CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.8 percent in February from a year ago and increased month over month by 1.1 percent.
The company’s Home Price Index report showed home prices rose across the country, with every state posing year over year gains in the past 12 months.
CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft noted fixed-rate mortgage rates dropped more than one-quarter of a percentage point during the first three months of 2016, while job creation averaged 209,000 over the same period. “These economic forces will sustain home purchases during the spring and support the 5.2 percent home price appreciation CoreLogic has projected for the next year,” he said.
The company’s forecast suggests that home prices should increase by 5.2 percent year-over-year and by 0.6 percent month over month.
“Improved economic conditions and tight inventories continue to drive exceptionally strong gains in many markets, especially for homes priced below $500,000,” said CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi.