U.S. Home Prices In April Jumped Most in 7 Years

Filed under: News, Buying, SellingBy Christopher S. RugaberWASHINGTON -- U.S. home prices soared 12.1 percent in April from a year earlier, the biggest gain since February 2006, as more buyers competed for fewer homes. Real estate data provider CoreLogic says prices rose in April from the previous April in 48 states. Prices also rose 3.2 percent in April from March, much better than the previous month-to-month gain of 1.9 percent.Prices in Nevada jumped 24.6 percent from a year earlier, the most among the states. Californias gain was next at 19.4 percent, followed by Arizonas 17.3 percent, Hawaiis 17 percent and Oregons 15.5 percent. More people are looking to purchase homes. But the number of homes for sale is 14 percent lower than it was a year ago. The supply shortage has contributed to the price increases.Rising home prices can help sustain the housing recovery. They encourage more homeowners to sell. And they spur would-be homeowners to buy before prices increase further. Home sales and prices began to recover last year, six years after the housing bust. They have been buoyed by steady job gains and low mortgage rates.Sales of previously occupied homes ticked up to a 3½ year high in April, according to the National Association of Realtors. And they are likely to keep growing: A measure of signed contracts to buy homes rose to its highest level in three years in April. There is generally a one- to two-month lag between a signed contract and a completed sale.The limited supply of homes has also made builders more willing to ramp up construction. Thats creating more construction jobs. Applications for building permits rose in April to the highest level in nearly five years.Prices rose in April from the previous year in 94 out of the 100 largest U.S. cities, CoreLogic said. Thats up from 88 in the previous month. Los Angeles and Phoenix reported the biggest price gains among the cities, CoreLogic said. Prices in both cities leaped 19.2 percent compared with a year earlier.They were followed by Atlanta and Riverside-San Bernardino, which both posted 16.5 percent gains. Dallas rounded out the top five, with a 10.2 percent increase. Despite the large gains, home prices are more than 22 percent below their April 2006 peak, the CoreLogic survey found. In Nevada, they are still 47.3 percent below their peak, and in Florida, prices are 40.5 percent below their peak.See more news about home prices:Case-Shiller: Home Prices See Biggest Jump in 7 Years 5 Reasons Housing Will Continue to Improve Homes Selling as Fast as They Did During Housing Boom More on AOL Real Estate:Find out how to calculate mortgage payments.Find homes for sale in your area.Find foreclosures in your area.See celebrity real estate.Follow us on Twitter at @AOLRealEstate or connect with AOL Real Estate on Facebook. Permalink | Email this | Commentshttp://realestate.aol.com/blog/2013/06/04/april-2013-home-prices/ @ uwad.com