from CoreLogic
National home prices increased 7 percent year over year in March 2018, and are forecast to increase 5.2 percent from March 2018 to March 2019. Further, an analysis of the market by price tiers indicates that lower-priced homes experienced significantly higher gains, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index Report.
CoreLogic analyzes four individual home-price tiers that are calculated relative to the median national home sale price [1]. The lowest price tier increased 9.6 percent year over year, compared with 8.6 percent for the low- to middle-price tier, 7.2 percent for the middle- to moderate-price tier, and 5.8 percent for the high-price tier. Figure 1 shows the historical levels of the four price tiers indexed to January 2006, shortly before each of the tiers hit its peak index value. Appreciation in the low-price tier began pulling ahead of the other price tiers in 2013, and appreciation in the low-price tier has been steady since then. The five-year appreciation rate (from March 2013 to March 2018) for the low-price tier was 55 percent, compared with five-year appreciation of 44 percent for the low- to middle-price tier, 38 percent for the middle- to moderate-price tier, and 30 percent for the high-price tier.
The overall HPI (all price tiers combined) has increased on a year-over-year basis every month since February 2012 and has gained 52.2 percent since hitting bottom in March 2011. As of March, the overall HPI was 3 percent higher than its pre-crisis peak in April 2006. Adjusting for inflation, U.S. home prices increased 5 percent year over year in March 2018 and were 14.8 percent below their peak [2]. Figure 2 shows the cumulative price movement since the inception of price declines for both the nominal HPI and the inflation-adjusted HPI, as well as the time in years since the first decrease in the indices.
Figure 3 shows the year-over-year HPI growth in March 2018 for the 25 highest-appreciating states along with their highest and lowest historical price changes. Four states showed double-digit year-over-year increases, all of them in the West. Nevada and the state of Washington showed the largest HPI gains of all states in March 2018, both showing a 12.6 percent year-over-year increase. Idaho and Utah followed closely behind with 12.3 percent and 11.2 percent year-over-year gains respectively. Prices in 37 states (including the District of Columbia) have risen above their pre-crisis peaks, and prices in two states are no more than 5 percent below their pre-crisis peaks. Of the seven states that had larger peak-to-trough declines than the national average, California, Idaho, and Michigan have returned to the peak as of March 2018. Nevada home prices in March 2018 were the farthest below their all-time HPI high, still 19.9 percent below the March 2006 peak.
