Rapid Annual Price Gains Continue in June

Double-digit annual increases continued in June as home prices surged 11.9 percent, ""CoreLogic"":http://www.corelogic.com/ reported Tuesday.

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The increase marks the 16th consecutive month of annual home price appreciation. From May to June, prices grew 1.9 percent. The measurement includes distressed sales (REOs, short sales).

""In the first six months of 2013, the U.S. housing market appreciated a remarkable 10 percent,"" said Dr. Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.

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""This trend in home price gains is moving at the fastest pace since 1977,"" he added.

Even with the significant annual gains, home prices are still 19 percent below their April 2006 peak, the data provider revealed.

For July, CoreLogic's index projects prices will post an even bigger 12.5 percent annual increase, while the monthly improvement is expected to be 1.8 percent.

The states where prices grew at the fastest rate year-over-year were Nevada (+26.5 percent), California (+21.4 percent), Wyoming (+16.7 percent), Arizona (+16.2 percent), and Georgia (+14.3 percent).

Even though Nevada ranked No. 1 for annual price appreciation, home values in the state are 44.3 percent below their peak value, the furthest of any state.

Only two states saw prices depreciate over the last year: Mississippi (-2.1 percent) and Delaware (-1.1 percent).

Among the largest metro areas, Los Angeles ended June with the largest annual gain, at 20.7 percent. Other metros in the top five included Riverside, California (19.8 percent); Phoenix (17.1 percent); Atlanta (16.1 percent); and Houston (10 percent).