Home Price Index Posts Fifth Straight Monthly Decline in U.S.

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CoreLogic (NYSE:CLGX) reported today that their December 2010 Home Price Index (HPI) showed U.S. home price declines for a fifth consecutive month.

According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 5.46 percent in December 2010 compared to December 2009 and declined by 4.39 percent in November 2010 compared to November 2009. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 2.31 percent in December 2010 compared to December 2009 and declined by 2.81 percent in November 2010 compared to November 2009. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

Annual data for 2010 shows home prices stabilized with the average annual HPI index showing no change relative to 2009. That compares to a 12.7 percent decline between 2008 and 2009. The stabilization in annual prices follows double-digit declines in 2008 and 2009 and is a sign that the largest declines are over. According to Mark Fleming, chief economist with CoreLogic, 2010 was a year of ups and downs as a result of the improvements brought on by the tax credits followed by the declines that occurred when they expired. "It was a bumpy ride which ended with a net gain/loss of zero. Despite the continued monthly decline in home prices and year-over-year depreciation, we're encouraged that on an annual basis we're unchanged relative to a year ago. Excess supply continues to drive prices downward, but the silver lining is that the rate of decline is decelerating," he said.

Highlights as of December 2010

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: North Dakota (+5.53 percent), Hawaii (+3.79 percent), West Virginia (+3.74 percent), New York (+1.66 percent) and Vermont (+.65 percent).

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Idaho (-14.61 percent), Alabama (-13.14 percent), Arizona (-10.94 percent), Oregon (-9.61 percent) and Missouri (-8.82 percent).

• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: Hawaii (+6.15 percent), North Dakota (+6.03 percent), West Virginia (+3.53 percent), New York (+3.27 percent), and District of Columbia (+2.64 percent).

• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Idaho (-10.41 percent), Alabama (-8.72 percent), Arizona (-7.09 percent), Oregon (-6.30 percent) and Washington (-5.75 percent).

• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to December 2010) was -31.6 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -22.2 percent.

 

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