Real Estate Marketing & Beyond
According to the latest data from CoreLogic, real estate prices in the United States increased by 8.8% to the year ending in May and are expected to increase by a further 6% during the next 12 months. The article in Propertywire points out that prices have now increased year on year for 27 consecutive months, and figures show prices were up by 1.4% in May compared to April.
In May of this year no states saw prices fall, and in fact the District of Columbia and 25 states were either at their peak home price appreciation or within 10% of this figure. The strongest year on year price increases were seen in Hawaii, Nevada and California, while the states of New York, Texas, Colorado, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Alaska saw new highs.
When distressed sales are excluded from figures then national home prices increased by 8.1% in May 2014 compared to a year earlier, and prices were up 1.2% month on month compared to April this year. When distressed sales are excluded then the District of Columbia and all 50 states showed annual home price increases to the year ending in May. According to the CoreLogic HPI forecast, real estate prices including distressed sales are predicted to increase by 0.8% month on month from May to June this year, and by 6% annually. If distressed sales are excluded then home prices are predicted to increase by 0.7% from May to June this year, and by 5.1% annually. Even though the rate of home price appreciation is still high, experts point out things are cooling down. The annual rate of 8.8% for May is down by nearly 3% compared to just three months earlier. It's expected that cooling demand and rising inventory levels will cause price growth to moderate towards levels predicted by CoreLogic.
Real estate experts have also pointed out that the fact that have prices are still increasing across much of the country has both positive and negative effects on the property market. On one hand rapid and price increases have helped lift many homeowners out of negative equity, giving them the opportunity to move house if they desire. However prospective homeowners are also faced with issues over affordability. It's hoped that if house prices cool down then it will help keep the housing recovery going.
The CoreLogic HPI forecast is based on a number of different economic variables and is a monthly projection of home prices.
