CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services, today released its April Home Price Index (HPI) which shows that home prices in the U.S. increased on a month-to-month basis by 0.7 percent between March and April, 2011, the first such increase since the home-buyer tax credit expired in mid-2010. However, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined by 7.5 percent in April 2011 compared to April 2010 after declining by 6.8 percent* in March 2011 compared to March 2010. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined by 0.5 percent in April 2011 compared to April 2010 and by 1.6* percent in March 2011 compared to March 2010. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.
“While the economic recovery is still fragile and one data point is not a trend, the month-over-month increase based on April sales activity is a positive sign. This is the first month-over-month increase in the HPI since government support for home buying was removed, and it provides reason for cautious optimism,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic.
Highlights as of April 2011
Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: North Dakota (+4.2 percent), Vermont (+3.4 percent), New York (+3.2 percent), The District of Columbia (+2.2 percent) and Mississippi (+1.4 percent).
Including distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Idaho (-15.2 percent), Michigan (-13.2 percent), Arizona (-11.9 percent), Rhode Island (-11.6 percent) and Nevada (-11.4 percent).
Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the highest appreciation were: West Virginia (+8.4 percent), South Carolina (+6.1 percent), Hawaii (+5.8 percent), Mississippi (+5.0 percent) and North Dakota (+4.5 percent).
Excluding distressed sales, the five states with the greatest depreciation were: Nevada (-10.3 percent), Idaho (-9.5 percent), Arizona (-6.0 percent), South Dakota (-5.9 percent) and Minnesota (-5.6 percent).
Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to April 2011) was -33.8 percent. Excluding distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period was -21.9 percent.
Of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) measured by population, 92 are showing year-over-year declines in April, an increase over March when 91* of the top CBSAs were showing year-over-year declines.

Data Highlights • Negative equity remains concentrated in five states: Nevada, which had the highest negative equity percentage with 67 percent of all of its mortgaged properties underwater, followed by Arizona (49 percent), Florida (46 percent), Michigan (38 percent) and California (32 percent).

• The largest declines in negative equity were concentrated in the hardest hit states. Alaska experienced the largest decline, falling 1.8 percentage points, followed by Nevada (-1.6), Arizona (-1.4), California (-1.2), and Florida (-0.9). Idaho and Alabama are the only states with noticeable increases, which is not a surprise given they are currently the two top states for home price depreciation.

*March data was revised. Revisions with public records data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results.
Full-month April 2011 national, state-level and top CBSA-level

SOURCE:Full articles can be found at: http://www.corelogic.com/About-Us/News/CoreLogic-Home-Price-Index-Shows-First-Month-Over-Month-Increase-since-Mid-2010.aspx  and: http://www.corelogic.com/uploadedFiles/Pages/About_Us/ResearchTrends/Q3_2010_Negative_Equity_FINAL.pdf

California’s median price of an existing singly-family home increased about 4% last month. Different regions varied from declines of around 10% to around 40% increases in our area of Placerville / El Dorado County, California.

“Buyers beware” and don’t be procrastinating. Explore and get the facts on what are your specific market opportunities. Interest rates are expected to increase in a few months and home prices may be leveling out. Various other factors could influence buyers affordability and qualifications. So, now is the time to see how you can benefit!