CoreLogic: January Home Prices Up Nearly 7%

CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said U.S. home prices jumped by nearly 7 percent in January from a year ago and by 0.7 percent from December.

The company’s Home Price Index said home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.9 percent in January compared to a year ago and by 0.7 percent from December. The Single-Family Rental Index rose by 2.7 percent.

“With lean for-sale inventories and low rental vacancy rates, many markets have seen housing prices outpace inflation,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft.

Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast suggests home prices could increase by 4.8 percent through January 2018 and by 0.1 percent through February.

“Home prices continue to climb across the nation, and the spring home buying season is shaping up to be one of the strongest in recent memory,” said Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “A potent mix of progressive economic recovery, demographics, tight housing stocks and continued low mortgage rates are expected to support this robust market outlook for the foreseeable future.”