Home Prices Show Biggest Gain in 6 Years

by Christopher Freeburn | October 2, 2012 12:19 pm

The U.S. real estate market continues to gain strength, according to industry data firm CoreLogic, which reported today that home prices rose 4.6% in August compared to the same time in 2011. That’s the biggest jump since July 2006[1].

In addition to the year-over-year gain, CoreLogic’s home price index increased 0.3% in August over July, marking its sixth consecutive month-over-month rise, the Los Angeles Times noted.

Home prices rose in 44 states and 80 out of 100 large cities. That was an improvement from July, when 74 cities showed price gains. Hawaii, Nevada, Idaho and Utah experienced the biggest gains, while prices in New Jersey, Alabama, Connecticut and Rhode Island slipped.

Excluding short sales and foreclosures, August home prices climbed 4.9% over 2011, and rose 1% from July.

For all the good news, home prices remain 26.7% lower than their April 2006 peak, according to CoreLogic. In California, home prices are down 37.7% from their highest showing.

The CoreLogic report corresponds to data released by the Commerce Department last week[2] showing that the median price of a new home jumped 17% over 2011 in August, hitting $256,900, its highest monthly rise since 2007.

News of rising home prices had little impact on homebuilder stocks. Shares of Ryland Group (NYSE:RYL[3]) and D.R. Horton (NYSE:DHI[4]) dipped fractionally in midday trading on Tuesday, while Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL[5]) shares moved fractionally higher.

Endnotes:

  1. the biggest jump since July 2006: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-home-prices-20121002,0,345007.story
  2. data released by the Commerce Department last week: https://investorplace.com/2012/09/august-new-home-sales-slide-prices-climb/
  3. RYL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=RYL
  4. DHI: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=DHI
  5. TOL: http://studio-5.financialcontent.com/investplace/quote?Symbol=TOL

Source URL: https://investorplace.com/2012/10/home-prices-show-biggest-gain-in-6-years/