Nationwide home prices rise for second straight month

U.S. home prices rose slightly in May compared to April, according to the May Housing Price Index released today by CoreLogic, which marks the second consecutive month-over-month increase. But housing prices remain far below their levels in the spring of 2010. Including distressed sales, prices rose 0.8 percent compared to April, but were stuck at 7.4 percent less than May 2010. However, excluding distressed sales, the year-over-year decline was just 0.4 percent.
“Two consecutive months of month-over-month growth and continued relative strength in the non-distressed market segment are positive seasonal signs in the housing market,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “Slowly declining shadow inventory and stabilized negative equity levels are also positive signs.” Miami unfortunately bucked the trend, with sales decreasing by 7.3 percent. — Adam Fusfeld