There is some good news from the folks at CoreLogic in regard to home prices. Figures from July revealed that national home prices increased 3.8 percent compared to July 2011. This is significant because it is the largest annual price gain since August 2006.
This was especially good news for these states, where the highest rates of appreciation were recorded:
- AZ-up 16.6%
- ID-up 10%
- UT-up 9.3%
- SD-up 8.3%
- CO-up 7.3%
While this is good news, troubled homeowners are not out of the woods yet. In AZ, the July home prices were still beneath the 2006 high by 42.8 percent, and values remain drastically low in FL and NV (but there is good news in these markets too). The survey also reflected that from the 100 markets surveyed, home prices were down from July 2011 in 23 of them. However, it was pointed out that this was positive, since in June, 27 of those markets were down.
The CEO of CoreLogic, Anand Naliathambi, reflected on the findings by saying, "Although we expect some slowing in price gains over the balance of 2012, we are clearly seeing the light at the end of a very long tunnel." Other market watchers have commented that price appreciation should begin to slack off as we cycle out of the busy summer period. However, the Chief Economist for CoreLogic has predicted that he feels there will be price gains through the end of 2012.
On the mortgage front, Freddie Mac just reported that fixed home loan rates fell again to record levels. The 30 year home loan rate avergage was 3.49% (.6 pt) and the 15 year fixed mortgage rate average was 2.77% (.6 pt) for the week. If you are interested in purchasing or refinancing a home, please keep American Financial Resources in mind. We're a national mortgage lender who offers some of the most competitive pricing in the industry. You can reach us at 800-634-8616 or online at AFRMortgage.com.
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