CoreLogic Report Finds Home Prices Declined in August for First Time in 2010

CoreLogic, a provider of information, analytics and business services, has released its Home Price Index (HPI) which shows that home prices in the U.S. declined for the first time this year. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, declined 1.5 percent in August 2010 compared to August 2009 and increased by 0.6 percent in July 2010 compared to July 2009. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices declined 0.4 percent in August 2010. Highlights as of August 2010 include: ►The top five states with the highest appreciation, including distressed sales, were: Maine (+5.8 percent), New York (+3.7 percent), Connecticut (+2.5 percent), Virginia (+2.4 percent), and South Dakota (+2.1 percent). ►The top five states with the greatest depreciation, including distressed sales, were Idaho (-14.0 percent), Alabama (-10.4 percent), Utah (-7.3 percent), Oregon (-6.3 percent) and Florida (-6.2 percent). ►Excluding distressed sales, the top five states with the highest appreciation were: New York (+5.0 percent), South Dakota (+4.0 percent), Connecticut (+3.1 percent), North Dakota (+3.0 percent), and Vermont (+2.7 percent). ►Excluding distressed sales, the top five states with the greatest depreciation were: Idaho (-11.3 percent), Michigan (-7.6 percent), Arizona (-6.5 percent), Nevada (-6.3 percent) and Utah (-4.7 percent). ►Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to August 2010) is -28.2 percent. Excluding distressed properties, the peak-to-current change in the HPI for the same period is -19.6 percent. "Price declines are geographically expanding as 78 out of the largest 100 metropolitan areas are experiencing declines, up from 58 just one month ago," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. Full-month August 2010 national, state-level and top CBSA-level data can be found here. For more information, visit www.corelogic.com.