Home prices continued to moderate as last year came to a close, with home prices, including distresses sales, increasing 5 percent in Dec. 2014 compared to last year, the latest CoreLogic home price report said.
On a monthly basis, home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, dropped by 0.1 percent in December compared to November.
“Nationally, home price appreciation took a pause in November and Dec. 2014 and we expect a slow start to 2015,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. “As the year progresses, we expect upward pressure as low inventories and more first-time buyers drive up home prices.”
Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia are at or within 10 percent of their peak, while three states showed year-over-year home price depreciation. These states were Maryland (-0.7 percent), Vermont (-0.9 percent) and Connecticut (-2.2 percent).
Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 4.9 percent in Dec. 2014 compared to Dec. 2013, and increased 0.1 percent month-over-month compared to Nov. 2014.
“For the full year of 2014, home prices increased 7.4 percent, down from an 11.1 percent increase in 2013,” said Sam Khater, deputy chief economist at CoreLogic.
“Nationally, home price growth moderated and stabilized at 5 percent the last four months of the year. The moderation can be clearly seen at the state level, with Colorado, Texas and New York at the high end of appreciation, ending the year with increases of about 8 percent. This contrasts with previous appreciation rates in the double digits – for instance, Nevada and California, which experienced increases of more than 20 percent earlier in 2014,” Khater said.
Looking ahead, home prices, including distressed sales, are projected to increase 0.1 percent from December 2014 to January 2015. For the full year of 2015 (December to December), the increase is projected to be 4.8 percent.
“House price pressures came off the boil at the end of 2014, with the year-over-year rate of house price inflation at or around 5 percent during the final four months of the year,” analysts with Capital Economics said. “With the supply of homes for sale set to move closer into balance with demand, prices are likely to continue to increase at around this rate during 2015.”
COPYRIGHT 2015 HOUSINGWIRE
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION