Report Finds that Home Prices Increased by 6.3 Percent in May

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.3 percent in May 2015 compared to this time last year, according to CoreLogic’s May 2015 Home Price Index Report (HPI). This will make 39 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

"The rate of home price appreciation ticked up in May with gains being fairly widely distributed across the country,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “Importantly, higher home prices over the past couple of years have spurred increases in new single-family construction. Sales of newly built homes during the first five months of 2015 were up 23 percent from a year ago, and as rising values build equity for homeowners, we expect to see more existing homes offered for sale in the coming year.”

Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased by 6.3 percent in May 2015 compared with May 2014 and increased by 1.4 percent month over month compared with April 2015, according to CoreLogic. The index also found that on a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 1.7 percent in May 2015 compared with April 2015. Thirty-three states and the District of Columbia were at or within 10 percent of their peak prices for May. A total of ten states and the District of Columbia reached new home price highs not experienced since January 1976.

"Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans remained below 4 percent through May, helping to fuel home-purchase activity," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Our homes-for-sale listing data shows that markets with high demand and limited supply, such as San Francisco, are recording double-digit appreciation rates over the past year."

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices, including distressed sales, are expected to increase by 0.9 percent month over month from May 2015 to June 2015 and by 5.1 percent from May 2015 to May 2016. Excluding distressed sales, home prices are projected to increase by 0.8 percent month over month from May 2015 to June 2015 and by 4.7 percent from May 2015 to May 2016.

According to CoreLogic, including distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were: South Carolina (+10.3 percent), Colorado (+9.8 percent), Washington (+8.8 percent), Florida (+8.7 percent), and Nevada (+8.3 percent). Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest home price appreciation were: South Carolina (+9.6 percent), Colorado (+9.2 percent), Florida (+8.9 percent), Washington (+8.5 percent), and Oregon (+7.9 percent).

Including distressed sales, only five states experienced home price depreciation including: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maryland, Mississippi ,and Louisiana.

Click here to view CoreLogic's May 2015 Home Price Index Report.