Us house prices continue climb in december

US house prices were up both year over year and month over month in December 2015, according to CoreLogic. The latest figures show that prices nationwide rose 6.3 per cent and 0.8 per cent respectively, with prices forecast to grow at a more moderate 5.4 per cent annual basis from December 2015 to December 2016.

"Nationally, home prices have been rising at a 5 to 6 percent annual rate for more than a year," says Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "However, local-market growth can vary substantially from that. Some metropolitan areas have had double-digit appreciation, such as Denver and Naples, Florida, while others have had price declines, like New Orleans and Rochester, New York."

"Higher property valuations appear to be driving up single-family construction as we head into the spring. Additional housing stock, especially in urban centers on the coasts such as San Francisco, could help to temper home price growth in the longer term," adds Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.