House prices in the US have increased again in August – for the 18th month in a row.
What’s more the real cheer for homeowners whose properties were not so long ago in negative equity or teetering on the brink of foreclosure is home values have increased by double digits every month since January 2013.
However, monthly gains are slowing as the peak buying season ends.
The data comes from house price monitor CoreLogic, which shows average house prices across the States rose 12.4% year-on-year.
The monthly increase from July to August was 0.9%.
But, the firm points out in their research report, despite the gains, house prices across America are still languishing at 17.1% below their peak in April 2006.
Mortgage rates up
“Home values showed little change month on month,” said CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming.
“We expect to see a slight drop in the rate of appreciation over the coming months, but do not see that as anything to worry about as the market always experiences a seasonal fall in prices around this time of the year.
“We are expecting to see a similar year-on-year increase in September of around 12.7%, but only a 0.2% month-on-month increase.”
“Besides the seasonal factor, a recent increase in mortgage rates has also taken a toll on prospective buyers. Nevertheless we are expecting moderate gains for the rest of the year,” said Fleming.
Prices state by state
The five states with the greatest year on year price increases are:
- Nevada – 25.9%
- California – 23.1%
- Arizona – 16.4%
- Wyoming – 15%
- Georgia – 14.8%
As a measure of how much the value of homes dropped across the States during the credit crunch and recession, these are the five states furthest away from their peak prices in April 2006 –
- Nevada – 41.9%
- Florida – 37.2%
- Arizona – 32%
- Rhode Island – 29.1%
- Michigan – 25.7%
Surprisingly, Nevada and Arizona appear on both lists.
States with the lowest house price increase year-on-year were:
- New Mexico – 1.54%
- Vermont – 2.08%
- Delaware – 2.51%
- West Virginia – 2.62%
- Kentucky – 2.73%
CoreLogic also reports that 99 of the largest US metropolitan areas posted year-on-year property price increases.
The metropolitan areas with the largest prices rises were:
Source: CoreLogic
