Home Prices Post Biggest Gain in Six Years

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By Shanthi Bharatwaj02/05/13 - 09:33 AM EST

Stock quotes in this article: XHB, IYR 

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NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Home prices rose 8.3% in December from a year earlier, the biggest gain since May 2006, according to CoreLogic.

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All but four states -- Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Delaware -- posted increases.

Prices rose 0.4% in December from November, the 10th consecutive monthly advance.

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Excluding foreclosures and short sales, which sell at deep discounts to the market price, home prices were up 7.5% on a year-on-year basis and 0.9% month-on-month.

The states with the highest home-price appreciation in December were Arizona (20%), Nevada (15.3%), Idaho (14.6%), California (12.6%) and Hawaii (12.5%).

"We are heading into 2013 with home prices on the rebound," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "All signals point to a continued improvement in the fundamentals underpinning the U.S. housing market recovery."

Is It Safe to Sell Your House Now?

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By RUTH SIMON

It might finally be time to come out of the basement.

Seven years after the housing market began to collapse, rising prices and thinner inventories are presenting new opportunities for home sellers. Some hot markets are even seeing multiple offers for the same property—a phenomenon rarely seen since the boom years—as buyers become more confident and seek to take advantage of today's near-record-low mortgage rates.

Home prices nationally climbed 8.3% in December from the same period a year earlier, according to CoreLogic, CLGX +3.14% a real-estate analytics company. The increase was the largest since May 2006 and the 10th consecutive monthly gain. The CoreLogic figures include foreclosures and other distressed sales.

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A home for sale this month in Larkspur, Calif.

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The gains are good news for would-be sellers who have been stranded on the sidelines since home prices peaked in 2006. Nearly one in four homeowners and renters say now is a good time to sell a home, according to a survey released this month by Fannie Mae,FNMA +0.71% the government-backed mortgage company, up from 11% a year earlier.

"You will unambiguously see more people test the water," says Thomas Lawler, an independent housing economist in Leesburg, Va. He expects home prices to rise another 3% this year.

Thinking about selling? You are likely to find a buyer more quickly and at a better price if you factor in local market conditions and recent sales before setting an asking price, burnish your home's Internet profile and plan ahead for a home appraisal.

Read More:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323764804578314550225871358.html