Report says Nevada home prices rise 11 percent
BY CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: Nov. 7, 2012 | 2:03 a.m.
WASHINGTON - A measure of U.S. home prices jumped 5 percent in September compared with a year ago, the largest year-over-year increase since July 2006.
The report said that Nevada home prices rose 11 percent, and the gain reported by CoreLogic offered more evidence of a sustainable housing recovery.
The real estate data provider also said Tuesday that prices declined 0.3 percent in September from August, the first drop after six straight increases. The monthly figures are not seasonally adjusted. CoreLogic says the monthly decline reflects the end of the summer home-buying season and not a softening in the housing recovery.
Steady price increases should give the housing market more momentum when home sales pick up in the spring. Rising prices encourage more homeowners to sell their homes and entice would-be buyers to purchase homes before prices rise further.
Other measures have also shown healthy gains in home prices over the past year. The Standard & Poor's/Case Shiller 20-city index rose 2 percent in August compared with a year ago, a faster pace than the previous month.
The Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported a median single-family home price of $140,000 in October, unchanged from September and up 15.7 percent from a year ago. Las Vegas had seen eight straight months of increasing home prices.
"While the movements are undeniable, it is likely that these trends will not continue into perpetuity," said Brian Gordon, research analyst for Las Vegas-based SalesTraq. "Conversely, the number of foreclosures has fallen off a cliff, with only 210 bank repossessions taking place (in September), again, a trend that is not likely to persist."
The price gains in the past year reported by CoreLogic were widespread. Prices have risen in all but seven states. And they declined in only 18 out of 100 large cities that are tracked by the index.
Some of the biggest increases were in states that suffered the worst from the housing bust. Besides the 11 percent gain in Nevada, home prices in Arizona jumped 18.7 percent in the past year, the most of any state. Home prices in Idaho rose 13.1 percent, the second largest.
Home prices jumped 22.1 percent in Phoenix, the metro area with the biggest gain. Prices in Houston rose 6.6 percent, the second-highest increase.
The states with the biggest drops were Rhode Island (3.5 percent) and Illinois (2.3 percent).
CoreLogic's price index is based on repeat sales of the same homes and tracks their price changes over time.
Several reports last month showed that the housing market is improving, though from depressed levels.
Home builders started construction on new homes and apartments at the fastest pace in more than four years in September. They also requested the most building permits in four years, a sign that many are confident that home sales gains will continue.
Las Vegas-based Home Builders Research reported 591 new home sales in September, bringing the total for the year to 3,710, a 33 percent increase from the previous year. The firm counted 440 new home permits during the month, compared with 252 in the same month a year ago.
"After a 50 percent annual change and supposedly being on the upside of a recovery, one might expect permits to increase rather significantly next year," said Dennis Smith, president of the research firm. "However, in our opinion, there are still too many things working against any notable rise in permits."
New home sales jumped last month to the highest annual pace in the past 2½ years. Sales of previously occupied homes dipped in September but have risen steadily in the past year.
Sales of both new and previously occupied homes are still below levels that are consistent with a healthy housing market. That's partly because the supply of available homes for sale remains low. And many prospective home buyers are struggling to qualify for a mortgage or scrape together the bigger down payments that many banks are requiring.
