U.S. home prices rose 4.6% in August, biggest jump in six years

Home prices nationwide are recovering, making their largest leap in more than six years in August, according to a new report.

Prices soared 4.6% in August from the same month last year, the biggest year-over-year increase since July 2006, according to real estate data provider CoreLogic in Irvine.

And the gauge rose 0.3% from July for its sixth straight monthly increase.

All but six states are experiencing the gains, with only 20 of 100 major cities showing price depreciation, according to CoreLogic. In July, 26 major metro areas experienced slumps.

The overall increase is magnified by factoring out the weight of distressed sales, including short sales and foreclosures, CoreLogic said. The measure jumped 4.9% year over year and was up 1% from July.

The surging prices “bode well for a progressive rebound in the residential housing market,” said CoreLogic Chief Executive Anand Nallathambi.

“Sustained economic recovery in the U.S. requires a healthy housing market,” he said. “You cannot have a healthy housing market without price stabilization and ultimately home price appreciation.”

States such as Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Hawaii saw some of the largest price boosts. Arizona led the country with an 18.2% increase. California prices outpaced the national average, climbing 5.5%.

In Rhode Island, however, prices dipped 2.6%. Illinois, New Jersey, Alabama and Connecticut also had falling prices.

The national measure is still 26.7% below the pricing peak reached in April 2006. California has undergone one of the deepest plunges in the country, with prices sliding 37.7% from the high.

But several other reports recently have also suggested a steady upward trend. Last month, the government said the median price of new single-family homes was at a five-year high. A separate report from the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index noted four consecutive price increases.

Other data in the past few months have showed boosts in new housing starts and existing home sales as well as mortgage rates at record lows. Pending sales of existing homes, however, fell in August from a two-year high.

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