Clear Capital has released its Home Data Index (HDI) Market Report with data through March 2013. Using a broad array of public and proprietary data sources, the HDI Market Report publishes the most granular home data and analysis earlier than nearly any other index provider in the industry.
"Home prices ended the first quarter of 2013 in a similar fashion to how they started the year, stable and in positive territory," said Dr. Alex Villacorta, director of research and analytics at Clear Capital. "It has been seven years since home price growth continued throughout winter. This is very strong evidence of the start to a new leg of the recovery, one that should give further confidence to consumers and lenders alike that the recovery is real. As buyers become more confident the recovery is sustainable, this sentiment should grow to create a positive feedback loop."
Report highlights include:
►For the first time since 2006, quarterly home prices remained positive over winter.
► After starting the spring buying season strong, forecasts through 2013 point to continued growth.
►Yearly gains picked up momentum for the nation and three of the four regions.
"We see further evidence the recovery is maturing from the relatively rapid price correction we saw in 2012, with our forecasts showing modest gains expected over the rest of this year," said Dr. Villacorta. "On top of the 0.9 percent growth we've seen through Q1, our forecast shows an additional 1.7 percent increase over the next nine months. Phoenix is a great example where we expect to see that cooling trend support a more sustainable recovery. After a strong year of growth, rising prices should bring the metro back into a more normal range of growth. In addition, the typical influx of spring and summer supply will also help subdue price gains. All in all, this is great news for housing, where prices are sustainably on the rise, demand continues to grow, and the expected supply influx should curtail any bubble-like price trend behavior."
