CoreLogic: February Home Prices Jump Again

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said U.S. home prices continued to accelerate in February, rising by 1 percent from January and at a 7 percent growth pace from a year ago.

The report said Washington showed the highest year-over-year home price growth (11.1 percent), followed by Oregon (10.0 percent) and Utah (8.7 percent). Connecticut continued to show negative growth, with home prices falling by 0.1 percent annually.

“Home prices continue to grow at a torrid pace so far in 2017 and these gains are likely to continue well into the future,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Home prices are at peak levels in many major markets and the appreciation is being driven by a number of dynamics–high demand, stronger employment, lean supplies and affordability-that will continue to play out in the coming years.”

Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast projects home prices to increase by 4.7 percent on a year-over-year basis and by 0.4 percent through March.

“Home prices and rents have risen the most in local markets with high demand and limited supply, such as Seattle, Portland and Denver,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “The rise in housing costs has been largest for lower-tier-priced homes.”

Nothaft noted for example, from December to February in Seattle, the Index rose by 12 percent; the single-family rent index rose 6 percent for all price tiers compared to a year ago. However, when looking at only lower-cost homes in Seattle, the price increase was 13 percent, while the rent increase was 7 percent.