CoreLogic’s Home Price index rose 8.3 percent in December, increasing at its fastest rate since May 2006.
By Peter Ricci
Home prices rose a robust 8.3 percent year-over-year in December according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index.
That’s the biggest increase since May 2006 and the 10th consecutive monthly increase for the Home Price Index; additionally, prices increased from November to December by 0.4 percent, belying typical seasonal trends.
CoreLogic Home Price Index Posting Strong Increases
Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist, said that he expects December’s price gains to continue into January.
“December marked 10 consecutive months of year-over-year home price improvements, and the strongest growth since the height of the last housing boom more than six years ago,” Fleming said. “We expect price growth to continue in January as our Pending HPI shows strong year-over-year appreciation.”
And the Pending HPI, which CoreLogic uses to anticipate next month’s Home Price Index, does anticipate good things for January, including a 7.9 percent year-over-year increase for home prices and, when distressed sales are excluded, a 0.7 percent monthly increase from December to January (though including distressed sales, it does expect a 1 percent decline).
Home Price Increases to Continue Into 2013?
Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, echoed the sentiments of fellow analysts with his hopeful projections for 2013.
“We are heading into 2013 with home prices on the rebound,” Nallathambi said. “The upward trend in home prices in 2012 was broad based with 46 of 50 states registering gains for the year. All signals point to a continued improvement in the fundamentals underpinning the U.S. housing market recovery.”
Carlos Garcia, a real estate agent in Miami with The Keyes Company and MFB member, said that foreign investors have bolstered home prices in Miami-Dade County to the point where they are not consistent with the entire Florida state, which, as the Home Price Index noted, continue to show remnants of the recession (prices in the Sunshine State are down 43.5 percent from their peak, according to CoreLogic).
“Miami-Dade County is so much different, with our multi-national influx of buyers arriving here daily and wanting to invest in the Miami Dade County,” Garcia said, “particularly in Brickell, Downtown, Miami Beach and other waterfront locations.”
And indeed, recent data does suggest that purchase activity is on the rise; a recent survey from the Mortgage Bankers Association found that purchase activity is at its highest level since 2010.