April 5, 2012 (Chris Moore)
Monthly home prices fell across the nation for the seventh consecutive month in February, declining 0.8 percent from Janaury, but if distressed property sales were excluded, home prices would have posted a slight appreciation according to CoreLogic’s February Home Price Index (HPI).
Including distressed property sales, home prices in February were only 2.0 percent lower than in February of last year, down from 3.1 percent in January. Excluding distressed properties, home prices were 0.7 percent higher than in January and would have only been 0.8 percent lower than in February of last year, a slight improvement from 0.9 percent in January.
Nevada (-60.2 percent) continued to post the largest decline in home prices since the market peaked in 2006 followed by Arizona (-50.8 percent), Florida (-48.6 percent), Michigan (-44.0 percent) and California (-43.7 percent). That was little changed from last month’s list of worst performing states which included Nevada (-60.1 percent), Arizona (-50.8 percent), Florida (-49.0 percent), California (-43.6 percent) and Michigan (-43.2 percent).
Since the market peak in April 2006, home prices have declined 34.4 percent when including distressed property sales and when excluding distressed property sales, home prices have dropped 24.6 percent since the market peak.
CoreLogic defines distressed property sales as short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.
Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, stated, “House prices, based on data through February, continue to decline, but at a decreasing rate. The deceleration in the pace of decline is a first step toward ultimately growing again. Excluding distressed sales, we already see modest price appreciation month over month in January and February.”
Sixty-seven out of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) experienced year-over-year price declines in February, which was nine less than the revised amount reported in January.
The five states with the highest year-over-year (YOY) appreciation including distressed sales were: West Virginia (+8.6 percent), Michigan (+5.8 percent), Florida (+4.7 percent), Arizona (+4.5 percent) and South Dakota (+4.1 percent). In January, those states were: South Dakota (+5.7 percent), North Dakota (+4.0 percent), West Virginia (+4.0 percent), Montana (+3.6 percent) and Michigan (+3.0 percent).
The five states with the greatest YOY depreciation including distressed sales were: Delaware (-11.2 percent), Connecticut (-7.9 percent), Rhode Island (-7.8 percent), Illinois (-7.1 percent) and Georgia (-6.6 percent). In January, those states were: Illinois (-8.7 percent), Nevada (-8.0 percent), Delaware (-7.9 percent), Alabama (-7.7 percent) and Georgia (-7.5 percent).
The five states with the highest YOY appreciation excluding distressed sales were: South Dakota (+5.9 percent), West Virginia (+5.6 percent), Maine (+4.5 percent), Utah (+3.7 percent) and Montana (+3.6 percent). In January, those states were: South Dakota (+6.4 percent), Montana (+5.9 percent), North Dakota (+3.8 percent), Alaska (+3.7 percent) and Indiana (+2.7 percent).
The five states with the greatest YOY depreciation excluding distressed sales were: Delaware (-8.7 percent), Connecticut (-4.9 percent), Nevada (-4.6 percent), Vermont (-4.0 percent) and Minnesota (-3.3 percent). In January, those states were Nevada (-6.7 percent), Delaware (-5.5 percent), Minnesota (-4.1 percent), New Jersey (-3.5 percent) and Georgia (-3.3 percent).
Tags: CoreLogic, home prices, distressed property sales, appreciation, depreciation
Sources:
CoreLogic
