Us house prices forecast to climb 5.2 per cent

Photo credit: Cyndie

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 7.4 per cent in July 2014 compared to July 2013, according to CoreLogic's latest Home Price Index, marking 29 months in a row of annual price rises. On a monthly basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased 1.2 per cent from June 2014.

At the state level, only Arkansas posted a decline in July 2014 with 0.9 per cent depreciation. Indeed, a total of 11 states, plus the District of Columbia, reached new highs: Alaska, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Vermont.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices nationally increased 6.8 per cent year-on-year and 1.1 per cent month-on-month.

Home prices, including distressed sales, are projected to increase 0.6 per cent month over month from July 2014 to August 2014 and, on a year-over-year basis, by 5.7 per cent from July 2014 to July 2015.

"While home prices have clearly moderated nationwide since the spring, the geographic drivers of price increases are shifting," says Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic. "Entering this year, price increases were led by western and Southern states, but over the last few months northeastern and midwestern states are migrating to the forefront of home price rankings."

"Home prices continued to march higher across much of the U.S. in July.  Most states are reaching price levels not seen since the boom year of 2006," adds Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "Our data indicates that this trend will continue, with more states hitting new all-time peaks this year and into 2015 as the recovery continues."