Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased on a year-over-year basis by 1.1% in April compared to April 2011, the second consecutive year-over-year increase this year and the first time two consecutive increases have occurred since June 2010, according to new data from Santa Ana, Calif.-based CoreLogic. On a month-over-month basis, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 2.2% in April, which is the second consecutive month-over-month increase this year.
Excluding distressed sales, prices increased 2.6% in April compared to March, the third month-over-month increase in a row. CoreLogic reports year-over-year prices, excluding distressed sales, rose by 1.9% in April compared to April 2011.
‘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,’ says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. ‘Nationally, the supply of homes in current inventory is down to 6.5 months, a level not seen in more than five years, in part driven by the 'locked in' position of so many homeowners in negative equity.’