April 2018 CoreLogic Home Prices Up 6.9% Year-Over-Year

CoreLogic's Home Price Index (HPI) shows that home prices in the USA are up 6.9 % year-over-year (reported up 1.2 % month-over-month). CoreLogic HPI is used in the Federal Reserves' Flow of Funds to calculate the values of residential real estate. The quote of the day was in this data release:

More construction of for-sale and rental housing will alleviate housing cost pressures.

Analyst Opinion of CoreLogic's HPI

CoreLogic year-over-year rate of growth has been steady for three years - with a higher number issued initially and later significantly downwardly revised in the following months. This months number will be reduced further in the coming months - and will end up near 6.0 % growth. According to CoreLogic:

.... revisions with public records data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results.

Note that CoreLogic forecasts:

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from April 2018 to April 2019, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to be up 0.2 percent from April 2018 to May 2018.

Dr Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic stated:

The best antidote for rising home prices is additional supply. New construction has failed to keep up with and meet new housing growth or replace existing nventory. More construction of for-sale and rental housing will alleviate housing cost pressures.

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Frank Martell, president and CEO of CoreLogic stated:

Florida continues to show price resiliency after Hurricane Irma in 2017. Despite the impact of the huricane, prices were up 5.8 percent across the state compared to a year ago. CoreLogic data projects continued gains to home prices in Florida for the remainder of 2018. However, gains could be erased if a significantstorm makes landfall again.

Caveats Relating to Home Price Indices

There is no such thing as an "accurate" home price index. CoreLogic HPI is a repeat sales type index which should not be skewed by changes in the mix of home sales.