CoreLogic: Home Price Growth Slowest Since 2012
CoreLogic, Irvine, Calif., said December home prices increased by just 4.7 percent, the slowest growth rate since August 2012.
The company’s monthly Home Price Index report said annual average price growth in 2018 fell to 5.8 percent, with annual average price growth forecast to slow in 2019 to 3.4 percent. After peaking in March, December marked the ninth consecutive month of decelerating annual HPI growth
On a month-over-month basis, prices increased by 0.1 percent in December.
“Higher mortgage rates slowed home sales and price growth during the second half of 2018,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. “Annual price growth peaked in March and averaged 6.4 percent during the first six months of the year. In the second half of 2018, growth moderated to 5.2 percent.
According to the CoreLogic Market Condition Indicators, 33 percent of metropolitan areas have an overvalued housing market as of December. The report said 27 percent of the top 100 metropolitan areas were undervalued, while 40 percent were at value. For the top 50 markets based on housing stock, 40 percent were overvalued, 18 percent were undervalued and 42 percent were at value.
Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates home prices will increase by 4.6 percent on a year-over-year basis through December 2019. Comparing the annual average HPI and HPI forecast for 2018 and 2019, average price growth is forecasted to slow from 5.8 percent to 3.4 percent. On a month-over-month basis, home prices are expected to decrease by 1 percent from through January 2019.
“The slowdown in the rate of home price appreciation reflects the impact of inventory shortages and growing affordability issues in many markets,” said CoreLogic President and CEO Frank Martell. “On the positive side, if home-price growth continues to moderate, interest rates remain stable and household incomes rise in 2019, it could help renters and first-time buyers to take the plunge and realize the dream of owning a home.”
