September Home Prices at Post-Crash Peak; October will Extend Streak

CoreLogic said today that its Home PricernIndex (HPI) hit the highest level in September that it has reached since Mayrn2008, four months before what is generally considered the start of the housingrncrisis.  The index, which includesrndistressed properties, increased 0.2 percent from August to September and rosern12.0 percent over the course of the past year. rnSeptember was the 19^th consecutive month that home pricesrnincreased on an annual basis.</p

The CoreLogic HPI which excludesrndistressed properties increased by 0.3 percent on a month-over-month basis andrnwas up 10.8 percent from September 2012.</p

The annual increases are expected tornextend their run in October.  ThernCoreLogic Pending HPI, based on Multiple Listing Service data, projects homernprices will rise by 12.5 percent in October compared to prices a yearrnearlier.  The Pending HPI that excludes distressedrnsales is expected to increase by 11.2 percent.</p

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Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist forrnCoreLogic said “September marks the unofficial five-year anniversary of thernstart of the housing crisis.  Thernfive-year home price appreciation for all homes in the nation was 3.4rnpercent.  While there is still room forrnimprovement, the HPI is at the highest level since May 2008.”rn</p

The largest year-over-year increasesrnwere registered in Nevada (+25.3 percent), California (+22.5 percent), Arizonarn(14.6 percent), Georgia (14.4 percent) and Michigan (13.9 percent)  There were no states in which prices declinedrnon an annual basis but the smallest increases were in West Virginia (+0.9rnpercent) and Arkansas (1.3 percent.) rnEvery other state had an increase of at least 2.0 percent.</p

CoreLogic said 22 states are now withinrn10 percent of their peak home prices but other states have much further torngo.  However, despite recent gains,rnNevada remains 41.4 percent off of its peak, Florida is still down 37.7 percent,rnand Arizona prices are 32.1 percent below pre-crash levels.  </p

Anand Nailathambi, CoreLogic’s presidentrnand CEO said “Average home prices in nearly half the states are now withinrnstriking distance of their pre-downturn pricing peaks.  We are seeing a slowdown in the rate of pricernappreciation over the past three months from the rapid pace experienced overrnthe first half of this year.  Thisrndeceleration is natural and should help keep market fundamentals in balance overrnthe longer term.”

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