National home prices had the biggest annual price increase in February since March 2006, according to the latest data from CoreLogic.
The Irvine, Calif.-based analytic firm said in its monthly Home Price Index that home values escalated by 10.2% in February compared to a year ago.
Furthermore, home price growth on a
The rebound in prices was heavily driven by western states, CoreLogic said. For example, Nevada had the highest appreciation nationwide up by 19.3%, followed by Arizona at 18.6%, then California rose by 15.3%, Hawaii had an uptick of 14.6% and Idaho’s prices increased by 13.5%.
Meanwhile, only three states posted home price depreciation during this time period, led by Delaware with the biggest decline of 4.4%, then Alabama and Illinois, down 1.5% and 1.0%, respectively.
Also, the Corelogic HPI indicates that March 2013 home prices are expected to rise by 1.2% compared to the previous month. Additionally, a 10.2% increase is forecasted on a year-over-year basis.
“Nationally, home prices improved at the best rate since mid-2006, marking a full year of annual increases and underscoring the ongoing strengthening of market fundamentals,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Continued home price appreciation will provide fuel needed to drive further recovery in the home purchase market.”
