Charlotte-area home prices up 4.7%

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The sales price of existing homes in the Charlotte area, including distressed sales, rose 4.7 percent in April from a year earlier, according to CoreLogic’s Home Price Index.  Sales prices in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia metro increased 1.5 percent in April from March.

Appreciation grew at a quicker pace nationally — 6.2 percent in April from a year earlier and 1.8 percent from March.

“Low mortgage rates and a lean for-sale inventory have resulted in solid home-price growth in most markets,” said CoreLogic Chief Economist Frank Nothaft. “An expected gradual rise in interest rates and more homes offered for sale are expected to moderate appreciation in the coming year.”

The states with the highest annual home-price appreciation in April were Washington, at 10.6 percent; Oregon, at 10.3 percent; Colorado, at 9.5 percent; and Utah, at 8 percent.

Prices fell by 0.5 percent in Connecticut. Maryland had the lowest appreciation rate, at 0.3 percent, followed by Pennsylvania, where prices rose 0.5 percent in April from a year earlier.

North Carolina saw a 4.1 percent increase in the home price index in the 12 months ending in April.

CoreLogic forecasts that home prices will increase 5.3 percent between April 2016 and March 2017.

Using more than 30 years of transaction data, CoreLogic’s Home Price Index tracks changes in sales prices for the same homes over time. The company, based in California, provides property information, analytics and data services.