U.S. home price growth increased by 3.1% in March, according to new data from CoreLogic. While this represented the 134th consecutive month of year-over-year price acceleration it also represented the lowest rate of appreciation since the spring of 2012.
Home prices were down in 10 states from last year – mostly those in the West, a situation that CoreLogic attributed to a regional absence in affordable homeownership opportunities and a low supply inventory. Complicating matters was a slowing demand for more-expensive homes, which pulled appreciation down in that region at a faster pace. The states with the greatest annual loses were Washington (-7.4%), Idaho (-3.6%) and Nevada (-3.5%) – at the other end of the spectrum, the states with the highest annual home price gains were Vermont (9.9%), Indiana (9.2%) and Florida (8.9%).
“While housing markets across the country continue to send mixed signals, prices in many large metros appeared to have turned the corner, with the U.S. recording a second month of consecutive monthly gains,” said Selma Hepp, chief economist at CoreLogic. “At 1.6%, the month-over-month increase was twice the average seen between 2015 and 2020.”
“The monthly rebound in home prices underscores the lack of inventory in this housing cycle,” Hepp continued. “In addition, while the lack of affordability generally weighs on home price growth, mobility resulting from remote working conditions appears to be a current driver of home prices in some areas of the country.”
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