LPS: Home Price Index Increasing at Fastest Rate Since 2005

""Lender Processing Services, Inc.'s"":http://www.lpsvcs.com/Divisions/AppliedAnalytics/Pages/default.aspx (LPS) Applied Analytics division released its updated home price index (HPI), showing that although prices fell year-over-year, the HPI increase from this year's low has been the most significant jump up in years.

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The company's recent HPI is an update from an ""earlier release"":http://dsnews.comarticles/lps-april-2012-home-price-highlights-2012-06-22 to reflect residential sales concluded during April 2012. The index showed that home price values fell 0.1 percent from April 2011 to April 2012 ($201,000 to $200,000). However, price index values rose from January's low ($195,000) at a pace not seen in more than half a decade.

""Home prices have risen 2.5 percent so far this year, indicating an exceptionally strong spring,"" said Raj Dosaj, VP of LPS Applied Analytics. ""While prices typically see a boost in the spring, the magnitude and speed of this increase and its consistency across the nation have not been seen since October 2005.""

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The accelerated rate of the HPI's increase represents an annualized rate of 13.1 percent per year (compared to negative 6.1 percent/year from May 2007 to January 2012). LPS noted that the current pace may not continue, however, and only pointed it out for comparison to the steady decline in recent years.

Prices increased in 563 of the 579 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) covered by LPS data and fell less than 0.2 percent in the remaining 16 MSAs. Los Angeles and Hartford, Connecticut saw very small decreases-0.04 and 0.03 percent, respectively.

Among the 26 biggest MSAs overlapped by LPS data and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most showed increases of half a percent or more. Pittsburgh and Cincinnati posted slight increases (0.4 percent and 0.2 percent, respectively), and Los Angeles was the only MSA that did not post an increase in HPI.

The data showed sales volume staying near record lows. Volume started trending downward at the beginning of 2006 and fell along with HPI, bumping up only slightly with HPI at the end of the first-time buyers' tax incentive in April 2010.

Distressed sales accounted for more than a third of sales volume.

Foreclosure and short sale discounts rose slightly, and the difference between the two closed even further (a 25 percent discount for foreclosures and a 22 percent discount for short sales).