New report finds home prices on the rise all throughout the nation – How did we do?
A new report from CoreLogic, released earlier this month, revealed that home prices in Houston are continuing to ebb their way up; though, the news was hardly a surprise.
Each year, as predictable as the tides, home prices tend to rise and fall, starting low in the remaining winter months and then picking up steam as we move into summer only to again drop with the temperature when October and November roll around. In April, CoreLogic reported local home prices in Houston had increased 14.1 percent since a year before, and statewide prices by 10.3 percent.
The immediate increases in the state were less pronounced, with home prices rising 5.1 percent since January and only 2.2 since March, CoreLogic confirmed. This is the highest home prices have ever been in Texas.
Prices Rose Nationally, As Well
As similarities in home price trends are shared state-to-state, the same can also be said of national averages, according to CoreLogic, whose latest report showed:
- Home prices up 10.5 percent year over year.
- Home prices not including distressed properties increased 8.3 percent.
- Home prices remain 14.3 percent below their peak, which was hit in April 2006.
Home Price Gains: Good or Bad?
As they have been all year, home prices around the country are expected to continue rising as we move further into 2014; however, the speed of their ascent is likely to slow down.
“The weakness in home sales that began a few months ago is clearly signaling a slowdown in price appreciation,” Sam Khater, deputy chief economist for CoreLogic, said. “The 10.5 percent increase in April, compared to a year earlier, was the slowest rate of appreciation in 14 months.”
CoreLogic’s President and CEO Anand Nallathambi attributes the continued appreciation to “a dearth of inventory,” which, at least in the short-term, will keep home prices rising but at a much more manageable pace. National gains are expected to measure no more than one percent in May.