By Ian McKendry

WASHINGTON (MNI) – U.S. home prices rose year-over-year in the
month of April, data analytics firm CoreLogic reported Tuesday.

The CoreLogic home price index rose 1.1% on a year-over-year basis
in April after falling 0.6% in March.

“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,” CoreLogic CEO Anand Nallathambi said in a statement Tuesday.

CoreLogic said on a month-over-month basis, price appreciation
accelerated in April, rising by 2.2% after increasing 0.6% in March.

Excluding distressed sales, CoreLogic prices in April rose 1.9%
after rising 0.9% in March.

“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 2010,” Mark Fleming,
chief economist for CoreLogic said in a statement accompanying
Nallathambi.

CoreLogic also, for the first time released a pending home price
index which gives an indication of future home prices.

The firm said based on recent data from Multiple Listing Service,
prices are likely to rise another two percent from April to May.

“We see the consistent month-over-month increases within our HPI
and Pending HPI as one sign that the housing market is stabilizing,”
Nallathambi said.

“Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest
appreciation were: Arizona (+8.8 percent), District of Columbia (6.4
percent), Florida (+5.5 percent), Montana (+5.4 percent), and Utah (+5.4
percent),” CoreLogic said.

“Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest
depreciation were: Delaware (-11.9 percent), Illinois (-6.8 percent),
Alabama (-6.6 percent), Rhode Island (-6.2 percent), and Georgia (-5.6
percent),” it added.

** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

[TOPICS: M$$AG$,M$U$$$,MAUDS$]