Home prices decreased 4.7% in 2011 compared to the year before, marking the fifth consecutive year-end decrease in the CoreLogic ($17.24 0.2%) home price index.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices decreased 0.9% last year, which CoreLogic said gives an indication “of the impact of distressed sales on home prices in 2011.” 

Home sales last year also show month-over-month declines. December showed the fifth consecutive monthly decline with a drop of 1.4%, but rose 0.2% when distressed sales were removed from the equation. The December decline followed a much larger drop of 4.3% in November, compared to November 2010.

“While overall prices declined by almost 5% in 2011, nondistressed prices showed only a small decrease. Until distressed sales in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

While national statistics may be bleak, a few states posted increases in the price of homes last year. Montana came in first with 4.4% appreciation with distressed sales included, followed by Vermont (+4%), South Dakota (+3.1%), Nebraska (+2.5%) and New York (+1.7%).

Illinois had the biggest 2011 decline in prices, 11.3%, followed by Nevada at 10.6%.

Nevada's peak-to-current decrease stands at 60% (including distressed homes), compared with a national decrease of 33.7%.

jhuseman@housingwire.com