CoreLogic’s Home Price Index put up it’s best numbers in nearly seven years in February.

The CoreLogic Home Price Index put up its best numbers in nearly seven years in January, with national home prices rising 9.7 percent year-over-year.

That’s the 11th consecutive month of of home price increases, and the largest yearly increase since April 2006; only Delaware and Illinois posted yearly price declines when including distressed sales.

From December to January, home prices were up 0.7 percent, but when distressed sales are excluded, the Home Price Index was up 1.8 percent.

CoreLogic Home Price Index – Good Sign for Housing

Mark Fleming, the chief economist for CoreLogic, said the strong winter performance of the Home Price Index bodes well for the spring homebuying season.

“The HPI showed strong growth during the typically slow winter season,” Fleming said. “With these gains, the housing market is poised to enter the spring selling season on sound footing.”

Gary Bisha, the broker/owner of My Castle Realty in Houston, said that though he expects price increases to continue, Houston’s flourishing construction market could change that.

“With low inventory and high demand, we are bullish on home prices and expect them to continue rising,” Bisha said. “However as builders continue to ramp up production and inventory becomes more in balance I would expect some leveling in prices later in the year.”

And what can we expect for February? According to CoreLogic’s Pending Home Price Index, which uses MLS data to anticipate the next month’s data, home prices in February will rise 11.3 percent year-over-year and 1.8 percent from January. Take a look at our infographic below for some perspective on the recent home-price increases: