Coming off a solid December, when home values were up 6% annually, strong home price appreciation continued heading into the first month of 2016, according to the latest data from CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX).
Nationwide, home prices, including distressed sales, rose 6.9% year-over-year in January 2016 and increased 1.3% on a monthly basis from December, as reported by the CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI).
“While the national market continues to steadily improve, the contours of the home price recovery are shifting,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Dr. Frank Nothaft in a prepared statement.
Among the nation’s markets, the northwest and Rocky Mountain states have experienced the greatest appreciation and account for four of the top-five states for home price growth, Nothaft added.
Excluding distressed sales, the five states registering their largest year-over-year home price appreciation in January included Washington (10.7%), Colorado (10.3%), Oregon (10.1%), Hawaii (8.1%) and Nevada (8%).
Including distressed sales, these top-five states remained largely the same, with the exception of Florida (9.1%) and Idaho (8.4%) replacing Hawaii and Nevada.
With January’s numbers, CoreLogic notes the U.S. has experienced 47 consecutive months of year-over-year increases, however, the national increase has moderated somewhat and is no longer posting double-digit gains.
Looking ahead, the CoreLogic HPI Forecast predicts home prices will grow by 5.5% on a year-over-year basis from this January to January 2017, and by just 0.5% on a monthly basis to February 2016.
“Heading into the spring buying season, home prices continue to rise across much of the country,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “With rates staying low for now and continued solid job and income growth, the spring buying season is shaping up to be a good one.”
Written by Jason Oliva
