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43 » VISIT US ONLINE @ DSNEWS.COM DISTRESSED SALES DO NOT SLOW HOME PRICE APPRECIATION Home prices nationwide, including dis- tressed sales, increased by 2.7 percent month- over-month in April and have risen on a year-over-year basis for 38 consecutive months, according to the April 2015 CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI). With distressed sales (short sales and REO transactions) figured in, 30 states plus the Dis- trict of Columbia were at or within 10 percent of their peak prices in April, according to Core- Logic. e District of Columbia reached price peaks not seen since the beginning of Core- Logic's HPI in January 1976. Some states within 10 percent of their peak were Alaska, Colorado, Nebraska, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Wyoming. Home prices rose by 6.8 percent year-over- year and 2.3 percent month-over-month in April excluding distressed sales, according to CoreLogic. Home prices excluding distressed sales, which are normally discounted at 20 per- cent or more, actually appreciated at a lower rate month-over-month in April (2.3 percent) than home prices including distressed sales appreci- ated (2.7 percent). Year-over-year, prices appreci- ated at the same rate (6.8 percent) both with and without distressed sales: home prices including distressed sales appreciated by 5.1 percent over a three-month period; excluding distressed sales, prices increased by 4.9 percent over the same time frame. "For the first four months of 2015, home sales were up 9 percent compared to the same period a year ago," said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. "One byproduct of the increased sales activity is rising house prices, and, as a result, month-over-month home prices are up almost 3 percent for April 2015 and up more than 6 percent from a year ago." According to the CoreLogic HPI Forecast, including distressed sales, home prices are projected to increase by 1.1 percent from April to May this year and by 5.3 percent from April 2015 to April 2016. Excluding distressed sales, home prices are projected to rise by 0.9 percent month- over-month and 4.9 percent year-over-year. "Old fashion supply and demand, fueled by historically low mortgage rates and improving consumer finances and confidence, continue to push home prices up," said Anand Nal- lathambi, president and CEO of Core- Logic. "We expect continued price appreciation throughout 2015 and into next year. Over the longer term, household formation, up by more than 1 million over the past year alone, will drive down vacancy rates and create tighter housing markets in many metropolitan areas. is should provide the necessary underpinning for rising prices for the foreseeable future." e five states with the highest year-over-year home price appreciation, including distressed sales, were South Carolina (11.4 percent), Colorado (9.7 percent), Washington (9.1 percent), Florida (9 percent), and Texas (8.3 percent). Massachusetts was the state with the largest year-over-year home price depreciation, with a 1.7 percent decline, according to CoreLogic. e five states with the largest decline from peak-to- current were Nevada (33.9 percent), Florida (29.3 percent), Rhode Island (28.2 percent), Arizona (26.2 percent), and Connecticut (24.8 percent). e average national peak-to-current change in the National HPI from April 2006 to April 2015 (including distressed sales) was a 9 percent de- preciation. Excluding distressed sales, the aver- age nationwide peak-to-current change for the same period was a 5.1 percent deprecia- tion.

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