July 11, 2013
Agency
Home Prices Take Flight
Continuing on its upward trajectory, home prices soared 12.2 percent in May from a year ago, the most since 2006, according to Core Logic. From April to May, they increased 2.6 percent, the 15th straight month-over-month increase.
Prices rose in 48 states, falling only in Delaware and Alabama, according to the report. Of the 100 largest cities, 97 also reported gains. The state with the largest price increase was Nevada, with a whopping 26 percent gain. It was followed by California, Arizona, Hawaii and Oregon.
Anand Nallathambi, CEO of CoreLogic, said in a statement that he expects prices to continue to rise as we enter into the traditionally busy summer homebuying season. The report predicts prices will rise by another 2.9 percent in June, for a yearly gain of 13.2 percent.
“Across the country, pent-up demand and continued low interest rates are fueling strong demand for a limited inventory of properties,” Anand said in the statement.
Although interest rates have recently been trending higher, potential homebuyers may view that as a sign to quicken their pace and buy before they rise even more as the Federal Reserve scales back its bond-buying program