Home prices declined by 0.6 percent on an annual basis in March, according to ""CoreLogic's"":http://www.corelogic.com/default.aspx latest ""Home Price Index"":http://www.corelogic.com/about-us/news/corelogic-march-home-price-index-shows-slight-year-over-year-decrease-of-less-than-one-percent.aspx , released Tuesday.
[IMAGE]However, when distressed sales ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô foreclosure sales and short sales ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô are taken out of the equation, the nation actually experienced a rise in home sales from March 2011 to March 2012 ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô an increase of 0.9 percent.
Also notable: Overall home prices ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô including distressed sales ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô rose on a monthly basis in March for the first time since July 2011.
""This spring the housing market is responding to an improving balance between real estate supply and demand which is causing stabilization in house prices,"" ""Mark Fleming"":http://www.imn.org/pages/biography.cfm?personid=1F337A547198, CoreLogic's chief economist, said in a statement.
However, don't be too quick to chalk up all the positive news to
[COLUMN_BREAK]the spring buying season. While admitting that the same message has permeated the market the last two springs, Fleming distinguished this year from the last two by adding that ""stabilization is occurring without the support of tax credits and in spite of a declining share of REO sales.""
Accounting for all transactions, prices are now 33.7 percent below their April 2006 peak, according to CoreLogic.
When examining market-level data, 57 of the top 100 core-based statistical areas recorded annual declines in March. While still more than half, this number is down from 65 in February.
""While housing prices remain flat nationally, in many markets tighter inventories are beginning to lift home prices,"" added Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.
Home prices, excluding distressed sales, rose by the greatest percentage in Idaho ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô 5.4 percent. Idaho was followed closely by North Carolina, where home prices rose 5.1 percent in March.
Corelogic's list of top five states with greatest price appreciation in March was rounded out by South Carolina with a 4.7 percent increase, Montana with a 3.5 percent increase, and Kansas with a 3.4 percent increase.
At the other end of the spectrum, Delaware ranked highest for price depreciation in March, according to Corelogic. The Northeastern state recorded a 7.6 percent decline in prices for the month, a few full percentage points above the state ranking second for price depreciation in March ├â┬ó├óÔÇÜ┬¼├óÔé¼┼ô Alabama, where prices fell 4.1 percent.
Nevada, Vermont, and Rhode Island followed. Nevada and Vermont tied for third place with 3.9 percent declines in prices, and Rhode Island posted a 2.9 percent decrease.