CoreLogic home price index shows U.S. prices up slightly in June

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U.S. home prices, including foreclosures and other distressed properties, rose 0.7% in June when compared to the prior month, according to a home price index released Wednesday, though some of that increase is probably due to seasonal variations.

But the home price index, which includes foreclosures and other so-called distressed properties, fell by 6.8% in June when compared to the same month a year earlier, according to Santa Ana research firm CoreLogic

Excluding foreclosures and other distressed properties, prices were up 1.5% from May to June. They fell 1.1% when compared to the same month a year prior. Distressed sales include foreclosure properties, as well as short sales, a transaction for which the bank allows a property to be sold for less than the outstanding debt on the property.

‘While there is a consistent and sustained seasonal improvement in prices over the last three months, prices are lower than a year ago due to the decline in prices after the expiration of the tax credit last year,’ CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming said in a statement. ‘Price declines are more concentrated in the distressed sales market.’

While the Case-Shiller index is the most widely followed home price gauge, many economists and analysts also look to the CoreLogic home price index as a read to where the housing market is headed.

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-- Alejandro Lazo

Twitter: @AlejandroLazo

Associated Press