September Home Prices Rise 6.3% Nationally, More Than 10% in Washington and Oregon

Home prices in the United States rose for the 56th consecutive month in September. Compared with September of 2015, home prices rose 6.3%, including the sales of distressed properties. The year-over-year August increase was 6.2%. Month over month, September home prices rose by 1.1% from August prices, which had also risen 1.1% over July prices.

Two states posted negative home price changes in September: Connecticut, down 1.4% and Alaska, down 0.3%. Home prices reached new highs in 15 states and the District of Columbia: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington.

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

Including sales of distressed properties, the five states posting the largest year-over-year price increases in September were Washington (10.3%), Oregon (10.1%), Colorado (8.6%), Utah (7.8%) and Idaho (7.7%).

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CoreLogic chief economist Frank Nothaft said:

Home-equity wealth has doubled during the last five years to $13 trillion, largely because of the recovery in home prices. Nationwide during the past year, the average gain in housing wealth was about $11,000 per homeowner, but with wide geographic variation.

Excluding sales of distressed properties, the five states posting the biggest price increases over the past 12 months were Washington (9.7%), Oregon (9.5%), Colorado (8.3%), Utah (6.9%) and New York (6.8%).

The five states with the largest remaining peak-to-current declines, including distressed transactions, were Nevada (31.4%), Florida (22.5%), Arizona (22%), Connecticut (19.1%) and Maryland (18.7%).

Peak home prices occurred in April 2006 and current prices remain 5.2% below that peak. Including distressed sales, CoreLogic forecasts national single-family home prices to reach a new peak in October 2017.

CoreLogic has forecast that home prices will rise 0.3% month over month in October and rise by 5.2% between September 2016 and September 2017. Both projections include distressed sales.

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