CoreLogic releases 2011 home price stats

ScottSorensonRealEstate.Com
SANTA ANA, Calif. – Feb. 2, 2012 – CoreLogic released its December Home Price Index (HPI) report. Including distressed sales, home prices in the U.S. decreased 4.7 percent in 2011 compared with December 2010. Florida, however, fared a bit better than the national average with a price decline of only 3.3 percent. According to CoreLogic, 2011 was the fifth consecutive year for a decrease in the HPI.

The HPI also calculated price changes if distressed sales are excluded. Nationally, prices declined just 0.9 percent after backing out non-homeowner sales in 2011. Florida matched the national average with a 0.9 percent drop for the year. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

The report also shows that national home prices decreased 1.4 percent in December compared to the month before if they include distressed sales – its fifth consecutive monthly decline. However, national home prices actually rose 0.2 percent month-to-month if distressed sales are backed out of the equation. It’s the first time the price non-distressed sales rose for the month since July 2011.

“While overall prices declined by almost 5 percent in 2011, non-distressed prices showed only a small decrease,” says Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Until distressed sales in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices.”

Highlights as of December 2011

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: Montana (+4.4 percent), Vermont (+4.0 percent), South Dakota (+3.1 percent), Nebraska (+2.5 percent) and New York (+1.7 percent).

• Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Illinois (-11.3 percent), Nevada (-10.6 percent), Georgia (-8.3 percent), Ohio (-7.7 percent), and Minnesota (-7.5 percent).

• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: Montana (+7.7 percent), South Dakota (+3.5 percent), Indiana (+3.3 percent), Alaska (+3.1 percent), and Massachusetts (+2.9 percent).

• Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Nevada (-9.7 percent), Minnesota (-5.2 percent), Arizona (-4.9 percent), Delaware (-4.2 percent) and Michigan (-3.5 percent).

• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to December 2011) was -33.7 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -24.0 percent.

• The five states with the largest peak-to-current declines including distressed transactions are Nevada (-60.0 percent), Arizona (-51.9 percent), Florida (-50 percent), Michigan (-43.7 percent), and California (-43.5 percent).