Home prices continue to rise in SLC market over past year

Home prices in the Salt Lake City market rose 7.2 percent in March 2016 compared with March 2015, according to real estate information, analytics and services provider CoreLogic. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1.6 percent in March compared with February. Both figures include distressed sales.

Home prices in the Salt Lake City market rose 7.2 percent in March 2016 compared with March 2015, according to real estate information, analytics and services provider CoreLogic. On a month-over-month basis, home prices increased by 1.6 percent in March compared with February. Both figures include distressed sales.

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index data for March showed that home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased year over year by 6.7 percent in March compared with March 2015 and increased month over month by 2.1 percent in March compared to February.

The CoreLogic HPI Forecast indicates that home prices will increase by 5.3 percent on a year-over-year basis from March to March 2017, and on a month-over-month basis home prices are expected to increase 0.7 percent from March to April. The CoreLogic HPI Forecast is a projection of home prices using the CoreLogic HPI and other economic variables. Values are derived from state-level forecasts by weighting indices according to the number of owner-occupied households for each state.

“Housing helped keep U.S. economic growth afloat in the first quarter of 2016 as residential investment recorded its strongest gain since the end of 2012,” said Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic. “Low interest rates and increased home building suggest that housing will continue to be a growth driver.