US matches Australia with 4.7% drop in house prices in 2011
US house prices fell by almost the same amount as Australian house prices did in 2011 mainly due to distressed sales, according to new figures by US research firm CoreLogic.
The CoreLogic December Home Price Index shows that US house prices (including distressed sales) fell 4.7% in December 2011 compared with December 2010.
Excluding distressed sales home prices decreased by 0.9% in 2011 in the US, giving an indication of the impact of distressed sales on home prices in 2011.
Including distressed sales, the five states with the highest house price appreciation in 2011 were: Montana (+4.4%), Vermont (+4%), South Dakota (+3.1%), Nebraska (+2.5%) and New York (+1.7%).
The five worst-performing state housing markets in 2011 were Illinois (-11.3%), Nevada (-10.6%), Georgia (-8.3%), Ohio (-7.7%), and Minnesota (-7.5%).
Figures put out by the ABS earlier this week show a 4.8% drop in capital city house prices over the course of 2011.
However, while the CoreLogic US house price index has now fallen for the fifth straight year, Australian capital city house prices have only declined twice over the same five-year period (the other declining year being in December 2008 following the GFC), with moderate to strong gains in the other years (up 9.7% in 2006, 14% in 2007, 13.9% in 2009 and 4.6% in 2010).
US house prices fell 4% in 2010, 3% in 2009, 17% in 2008 and 9% in 2007, CoreLogic data shows.
According to the CoreLogic report, national home prices including distressed sales decreased 1.4% on a month-on-month basis in December, the fifth consecutive monthly decline.
Excluding distressed sales, house prices increased 0.2%, the first month-on-month gain since July 2011.
Commenting on the figures, CoreLogic chief economist Mark Fleming says while overall prices declined by almost 5% in 2011, non-distressed prices showed only a small decrease.
“Until distressed sales in the market recede, we will see continued downward pressure on prices,” he says.
December HPI for the Country’s Largest CBSAs by Population:
| December 2011 12-Month HPI | |
CBSA | Change by CBSA | |
| Single Family | Single Family Excluding Distressed |
Chicago-Joliet-Naperville, IL | -11.8% | -2.9% |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA | -9.0% | -3.3% |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA | -6.2% | 0.3% |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | -5.9% | -4.2% |
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX | -3.2% | 2.7% |
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, AZ | -2.6% | -4.5% |
Philadelphia, PA | -1.5% | -0.7% |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 0.2% | 2.4% |
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX | 0.3% | 2.7% |
New York-White Plains-Wayne, NY-NJ | 0.4% | 1.4% |
Source: CoreLogic