CoreLogic: HPI Increased in April, Will Continue in May

Home prices across the nation rose in April, and a further increase is expected for May's index, according to ""CoreLogic's"":http://www.corelogic.com/ April Home Price Index (HPI) report.

[IMAGE]

The report, released Tuesday, showed that home prices in the United States (including distressed sales-short sales and REO transactions) increased on a year-over-year basis by 1.1 percent in April. This was the second consecutive year-over-year increase in 2012 and the first time two consecutive increases have occurred since June 2010. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 2.2 percent in April, marking the second consecutive month-over-month increase this year.

Taking out distressed sales, prices increased year-over-year by 1.9 percent. They rose month-over-month by 2.6 percent, the third month-over-month increase in a row in 2012.

The April 2012 HPI report also launched a new metric from the company: the CoreLogic Pending HPI, which uses Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data that measures price changes in the most recent month to provide an indication of trends. According to the April 2012 Pending HPI, house prices are expected to rise at least another 2 percent from April to May.

CoreLogic president and CEO Anand Nallathambi said the projected increase is based on low home inventory levels.

""We see the consistent month-over-month increases within our HPI and Pending HPI as one sign that the housing market is stabilizing,"" said Nallathambi. ""Home prices are responding to a restricted supply that will likely exist for some time to come-an optimistic sign for the future of our industry.""

[COLUMN_BREAK]

""Excluding distressed sales, home prices in March and April are improving at a rate not seen since late 2006 and appreciating at a faster rate than during the tax-credit boomlet in 2012,"" said Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic. ""Nationally, the supply of homes in current inventory is down to 6.5 months, a level not seen in more than five years, in part driven by the ‘locked in' position of so many homeowners in negative equity.""

Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI from April 2006 to April 2012 was negative 31.7 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change was negative 23.3 percent.

Despite the overall increase in CoreLogic's national HPI, some states saw major drops in home prices in April. Delaware's 12-month HPI for single-family sales decreased by 11.9 percent. It was followed by Illinois and Alabama, which experienced HPI drops of 6.8 percent and 6.6 percent, respectively.

As far as Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) go, the Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale area saw a 12-month HPI increase of 11.3 percent. Chicago-Joliet-Naperville sat on the other end of the spectrum with a decrease of 7.3 percent.

*States with the highest appreciation (including distressed sales)*
1. Arizona (8.8 percent)
2. Washington, D.C. (6.4 percent)
3. Florida (5.5 percent)
4. Montana (5.4 percent)
5. Utah (5.4 percent)

*States with the highest appreciation (excluding distressed sales)*
1. Utah (5.3 percent)
2. Idaho (5.1 percent)
3. Mississippi (4.7 percent)
4. Louisiana (4.6 percent)
5. Arizona (4.6 percent)

*CBSAs with the highest 12-month appreciation (including distressed sales)*
1. Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale (11.3 percent)
2. Dallas-Plano-Irving (3.5 percent)
3. Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (2.8 percent)
4. Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown (2.0 percent)
5. Philadelphia (1.7 percent)