Home prices, including distressed sales, rose year-over-year by 5.9% in March, according to data released Tuesday by CoreLogic.
The CoreLogic Home Price Index report found that March was the 37th consecutive month to feature year-over-year increases in home prices across the country. Month-to-month, home prices also rose by 2%, including distressed sales.
When including distressed sales, 27 states and the District of Columbia were within 10% of their peak prices, while seven states reached new highs from when the HPI began in 1976. Colorado saw the most price appreciation when distressed sales were included at 9.2%, while Kansas topped the list at 9.5% when excluding distressed sales.
Looking at the nationwide figures when distressed sales are not included, the HPI noted that prices rose 6.1% from March 2014 and 2% from February 2015. Only New Mexico experienced price depreciation from a year ago when distressed sales were left out of the mix.
"The homes-for-sale inventory continues to be limited while buyer demand has picked up with low mortgage rates and improving consumer confidence," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, in a news release announcing the findings. "As a result, there has been continued upward pressure on prices in most markets."
CoreLogic's HPI Forecast estimated that prices will continue to increase month-to-month in April by 0.8% when including distressed sales and 0.7% without these properties.
