April 8, 2011 (Jeff Alan)

CoreLogic released its February Home Price Index (HPI) which shows U.S. home prices declining for the seventh month in a row in year over year comparisons. Prices in February 2011 were 6.7 percent lower than February 2010 with most of the pricing declines coming as a result of distressed transactions.

The HPI reports that the year over year price decline for February was only 0.1 percent when excluding distressed transactions. The same pattern was observed in January of 2011 as prices declined 5.5 percent* compared to January 2010, but the price decline was 1.4 percent* when distressed transactions were excluded.

Distressed transactions include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

According to CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming, although overall prices have continued to decline, excluding distressed transactions, home prices are showing signs of stability.

“When you remove distressed properties from the equation, we’re seeing a significantly reduced pace of depreciation and greater stability in many markets. Price declines are increasingly isolated to the distressed segment of the market, mostly in the form of REO sales, as the stock of foreclosures is slowly cleared.” he said.

The five states with the highest price appreciation including distressed sales were West Virginia (+5.4 percent), New York (+4.7 percent), North Dakota (+4.1 percent), Maine (+3.6 percent) and Alaska (+1.2 percent).

The five states with the greatest price depreciation including distressed sales were Idaho (-14.6 percent), Arizona (-12.0 percent), Florida (-11.2 percent), Michigan (-11.1 percent) and Illinois (-11.1 percent).

The five states with the highest price appreciation excluding distressed sales were West Virginia (+8.2 percent), New York (+5.7 percent), South Carolina (+5.4 percent), Hawaii (+5.0 percent), and District of Columbia (+4.5 percent).

The five states with the greatest price depreciation excluding distressed sales were Idaho (-9.3 percent), Montana (-8.6 percent), Maine (-6.2 percent), Arizona (-5.4 percent) and Rhode Island (-5.4 percent).

The peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to February 2011) including distressed sales was -34.5 percent compared to -21.7 percent when distressed sales are excluded.

Eighty six of the top 100 Core Based Statistical areas (CBSAs) are showing year-over-year price declines in February, which was an improvement from 88 in January.

*January 2010 data, including distressed sales, was revised from a decline of -5.7 percent to a decline of -5.5 percent.

CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX), a leading provider of information, analytics and business services. You can get a full copy of the Home Price Index here.

Tags: CoreLogic, home price index, HPI, U.S. home prices, distressed properties, distressed sales, depreciation, appreciation, foreclosures, short sales,REO properties

Sources:
CoreLogic