April Home Prices Rise Most in Washington, Colorado, Oregon

Home prices in the United States rose for the 51st consecutive month in April. Compared with April of 2015, home prices rose 6.2%, including the sales of distressed properties. The year-over-year increase for March was 6.7%. Month over month, April home prices rose by 1.8% from March prices, which had risen 2.1% over February prices.

Only Connecticut (−0.5%) posted negative home price changes in April, and 17 states reached new highs: Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Wyoming.

The data were released Tuesday by CoreLogic in its Home Price Insights Report for April.

Including sales of distressed properties, the five states posting the largest year-over-year price increases in March were Washington (10.6%), Colorado (10.0%), Oregon (10.0%), Florida (9.3%) and New York (8.2%).

Excluding sales of distressed properties, the five states posting the biggest price increases over the past 12 months were Washington (12.6%), Oregon (10.3%), Colorado (9.5%), Utah (8,0%) and Nevada (7.9%).

The five states with the largest remaining peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada (33.5%), Florida (24.9%), Arizona (24.5%), Rhode Island (24.2%) and Maryland (23.3%).

Peak home prices occurred in April 2006 and current prices remain 5.4% below that peak. Including distressed sales, CoreLogic forecasts national single-family home prices to reach a new peak in September 2017.

CoreLogic’s chief economist said:

Low mortgage rates and a lean for-sale inventory have resulted in solid home-price growth in most markets. An expected gradual rise in interest rates and more homes offered for sale are expected to moderate appreciation in the coming year.

CoreLogic has forecast that home prices will rise 0.9% month over month in May and rise by 5.3% between April 2016 and April 2017. Both projections include distressed sales.