Home Prices See Biggest Gains in Seven Years

We've recently posted about upbeat trends in home prices and home sales. Today The Oregonian has a story from the Associated Press with more good news for the housing market. 

In April, U.S. home prices rose by 12.1 percent from the previous year. That's the biggest gain since 2006. April home prices also rose by 3.2 percent from the previous month. The price increases appear to be driven by a lower stock of homes on the market; the number of homes for sale sat 14 percent lower this April than in April 2012.

Oregon's increase in home prices fared among the best. Nevada led all states with a jump of 24.6 percent over the year. California prices rose by 19.4 percent, followed by Arizona (17.3%), Hawaii (17.0%). At 15.5 percent, Oregon had the fifth-highest increase.

Even with the large gains, U.S. home prices still remain about 22 percent below their April 2006 peak. More information is available in the full article.