Dive Brief:

• Home prices in the U.S. rose 1.1% from September to October and were up 6.7% year over year, according to the latest CoreLogic Home Price Index. The monthly gains follow the same growth rates reported from July to August and from August to September.

• CoreLogic forecasts home prices to climb 4.6% from October 2016 to October 2017, lower than the 5.2% year-over-year gains forecast in September.

• Nine states posted home prices increases from a year ago at or above the national rate: Colorado (8.4%), Florida (7.8%), Idaho (8.5%), New York (7.9%), Oregon (9.9%), South Dakota (7.6%), Texas (6.7%), Utah (8.0%) and Washington (10.5%).  

Dive Insight:

Major metros are leading the charts in home price appreciation, due to a combination of high demand, low inventories and (for now) historically low interest rates, CoreLogic CEO Anand Nallathambi said in a release. Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Denver are among the metros experiencing the most significant price increases.

Meanwhile, some markets have begun to add back inventory, and industry observers are hopeful that trend will allow home prices to begin to taper. In a report last month, Realtor.com forecast a slowdown in price appreciation nationally to 3.9% in 2017 from 4.9% in 2016, with markets that have seen the most dramatic increase in prices over the past few years beginning to bolster their inventory once again. Still, the West region should continue to see the highest prices, with increases of 5.8% forecast for 2017.

A key factor in improving inventory levels is more new construction. Single-family starts rose 10.7% in October from September following a similar rise from August to September, according to the latest Commerce Department figures. Builder confidence in the outlook for new single-family construction held steady in November, tying for its second-highest level this year.

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