U.S. home prices continued their upward trend in June,
increasing on both a monthly and annual basis for the fourth
consecutive month, the market analytics firm CoreLogic is
reporting.
Overall home prices rose 1.3 percent from May to June, and
showed an annual gain of 2.5 percent since June 2011, according to
the company's June Home Price Index.
Excluding sales of distressed properties, specifically
foreclosures and short sales, home prices showed a 3.2 percent
annual gain and were up a full 2.0 percent over May's levels, the
company reported.
"Home prices are responding positively to reductions in both
visible and shadow inventory over the past year," said Mark
Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "This trend is a bright
spot because the decline in shadow inventory translates to fewer
distressed sales, which helps sustain price appreciation."
The inventory of homes available for sale has shrunk in part
because many homeowners who would like to sell are unable to do so
because they are underwater on their mortgages. Banks are also
bringing fewer foreclosed properties on to the market as they take
greater care in processing repossessions following the settlement
of a foreclosure abuses suit with the federal and state
governments.
Looking ahead, CoreLogic is predicting that home prices will
rise by at least 0.4 percent in July, which translates to a 1.4
percent monthly gain when short sales and foreclosures are
excluded.
"At the halfway point, 2012 is increasingly looking like the
year that the residential housing market may have turned the
corner," said Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic president and CEO.
"While first-half gains have given way to second-half declines over
the past three years, we see encouraging signs that modest price
gains are supportable across the country in the second-half of
2012."
As of June, the states with the highest annual rates of overall
price appreciation were Arizona (+13.8 percent), Idaho (10.4
percent), South Dakota (+10.1 percent), Utah (+8.3 percent) and
Wyoming (+7.7 percent).
The largest annual declines were seen in Alabama (-4.8 percent),
Connecticut (-4.0 percent), Illinois (-3.4 percent), Georgia (-2.9
percent) and Delaware (-2.8 percent).
First published at:
http://www.mortgageloan.com/home-prices-rise-4th-straight-month-9195