National home prices improved both on a quarterly and yearly basis in the same monthly report for the first time in nearly two years, according to Clear Capital data.
Through May, quarterly prices picked up across the country slightly with a gain of 0.4%, representing the first quarter-over-quarter gain in seven months.
Meanwhile, even though home values only went up 0.1% since last May, this is the first improvement on a year-over-year basis since September 2010.
“National real estate prices in May have finally moved past the continued losses of the last few years. The subsequent stabilization pattern seen in recent months has progressed into the start of moderate growth,” said Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital.
All regions except for the Midwest showed positive results regarding home values for the latest rolling quarter—the most recent four months compared to the previous three months—and year, the Truckee, Calif.-based valuation provider said.
The West saw a notable jump in quarterly prices by 2.7%, which is 2.2 percentage points more than the prior month. Clear Capital said values improved substantially in this region because of recent growth in the mid and top-tier homes (price point over $347,000), rather than only investor demand for the lower priced properties (under $140,000).
In the south, home prices appreciated by 1.2% in the last rolling quarter, while the Northeast matched the national quarterly gains as home values went up 0.4%.
However, the Midwest sustained declines of 2% in May, which is not as severe as the 2.7% depreciation experienced the previous month.
Mirroring the quarter-over-quarter results, the West, Northeast and Southern regions all recorded more substantial gains over the past year, of 1.9%, 1.6% and 0.9%, respectively, while the Midwest was down 3.1% from a year ago.
“While gains in national home prices over the quarter and year were minimal in May, there are encouraging trends continuing to play out and gaining momentum beneath the surface,” Villacorta added. “Strength in REO-only price trends as well as some early indications of price gains spreading from low tier sectors to the mid, and higher-priced homes is helping confirm that the country continues to make progress on its recovery, and we are expecting to see improvements extend over the next several months.”
