CoreLogic: December Home Prices Shoot Up 7.2%

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said home prices accelerated sharply in December on a monthly and yearly basis.

The company’s Home Price Index said home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 7.2 percent in December from a year ago; month over month, prices jumped by 0.8 percent from November.

“Last year ended with a bang with home prices up over 7 percent nationally, led largely by major metro areas,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices to increase by 4.7 percent through December 2017band by 0.1 percent through January. These increases, noted CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft, would put homes prices at a “new nominal peak before the end of this year.”

“We expect prices to continue to rise just under 5 percent in 2017 buoyed by lack of supply and continued high demand,” Nallathambi said.