On February 5, real estate research group CoreLogic released its Home Price Index (HPI) for December 2012.
According to the report, the cost of homes – including distressed sales – increased 8.3 percent in December 2012 compared to the previous year, making it the biggest jump since May 2006 and the 10th consecutive month of nationwide improvement. On a month-over-month basis from November 2012 to December 2012, home prices rose 0.4 percent.
States with the highest home price appreciation were Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, California and Hawaii up 20.2 percent, 15.3 percent, 14.6 percent, 12.6 percent and 12.5 percent, respectively. There were only four states whose home prices decreased, and they were Delaware, Illinois, New Jersey and Pennsylvania down 3.4 percent, 2.7 percent, 0.9 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.
Although CoreLogic is still awaiting data to determine its January 2013 HPI, experts from the corporation say they expect home prices to increase 7.9 percent from January 2012 and fall 1 percent month-to-month from December 2012.
“We are heading into 2013 with home prices on the rebound,” CoreLogic president and CEO Anand Nallathambi was quoted as saying in the report. “The upward trend in home prices in 2012 was broad based with 46 of 50 states registering gains for the year. All signals point to a continued improvement in the fundamentals underpinning the U.S. housing market recovery.”
As the housing market continues to improve, lenders may want to ensure they have quality loan management software in place. Paired with an amortization calculator, this will help guarantee that any repayment plans designed for hopeful homeowners fit within their budgets and will not lead to foreclosures.