CoreLogic: DC Home Prices Up 2.8% Over March 2011

The latest CoreLogic Home Price Index (HPI®) -- reporting data through March 2012 -- was released Tuesday, May 8th.  The March Index shows Washington area home prices continue to rise and inventory remains low compared with the February 2012 Index, even as price declines persist across the country.

“While housing prices remain flat nationally, in many markets tighter inventories are beginning to lift home prices,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic. “This is true in Phoenix, New York and Washington, for example, which all reflect higher home price values than a year ago. A continuation of this trend will be good for our industry across U.S. markets.”

The CoreLogic research methodology measures repeat or existing home sales, not new home builder sales, and limits property type to attached and detached single-family houses only.

District of Columbia

Numbers for the District of Columbia alone show home prices for all sales -- including distressed properties -- rose over March 2011.  Apparently, local prices for short sales and foreclosures are rising.

• Home prices rose 2.8% over last year -- including distressed sales.
• DC home prices show an increase of 1.5% over last year -- excluding distressed home sales .

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria
DC-VA-MD-WV

Key figures for the Washington "Core Based Statistical Area" -- which includes the District, Arlington, Alexandria, and parts of Maryland and West Virginia -- show distressed properties (i.e. foreclosures and short sales) putting a drag on overall home price increases.

• Home prices increased 1.8% over March 2011 -- excluding distressed home sales.
• Prices are up only 0.7% -- including distressed home sales.

Nationwide

Nationally the numbers show home price declines with distressed properties plunging the country's numbers lower.

• Including distressed home sales, prices decreased 0.6% compared to March 2011, but increased 0.6% over February 2012.
• Excluding distressed home sales, prices rose 0.9% in March 2012 compared to March 2011, a rise for the third consecutive month.

*        *        *

Methodology

The CoreLogic HPI provides a multi-tier market evaluation based on price, time between sales, property type, loan type and distressed sales. The CoreLogic HPI is a repeat-sales index that tracks increases and decreases in sales prices for the same homes over time, including single-family attached and single-family detached homes, which provides a more accurate "constant-quality" view of pricing trends than basing analysis on all home sales.

About CoreLogic

CoreLogic is a leading provider of consumer, financial and property information, analytics and services to business and government.  More than one million users rely on CoreLogic to assess risk, support underwriting, investment and marketing decisions, prevent fraud, and improve business performance in their daily operations. The Company, headquartered in Santa Ana, Calif., has approximately 5,000 employees globally. For more information visit www.corelogic.com.

Read the CoreLogic March HDI press release.

Read the full Home Data Index report.