Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
Average property prices in the US have fallen for the first time in four months, according to CoreLogic’s report for August, which showed a 0.4% decrease in prices.
The August Home Price Index (HPI) also showed that distressed sales had reduced by 4.4% compared to one year ago.
US home prices fall by 0.4% in August, according to CoreLogic © Tyler Olson - Fotolia.com
CoreLogic also reported that sales prices fell by 0.7% compared to August 2010, when distressed sales were excluded. Compared to July 2011, average prices fell even more, by 1.7%.
The five states which showed the highest average price appreciation in August were West Virginia, which had an increase of 8.6%, Wyoming (3.6%), North Dakota (3.5%), New York (3.2%), and Alaska (2.2%). These figures included distressed sales.
Meanwhile, the five states which showed the largest depreciation of average sales prices were Nevada (down 12.4%), Arizona (10.7%), Illinois (9.6%), Minnesota (7.8%) and Georgia (7.2%).
CoreLogic’s chief economist Mark Fleming said that these price declines were predictable, given that the onset of Fall traditionally marks a decrease in sales activity:
“The end of the summer traditionally marks the beginning of a fall for the housing market as it begins to prepare for winter so the slight month on month decline was predictable, particularly given the renewed concerns over a double dip recession, high negative equity, and the persistent levels of shadow inventory. The continued bright spot is the non distressed segment of the market, which is only marginally lower than a year ago and continues to exhibit relative strength”
The latest copy of the CoreLogic report can be downloaded here.
