12 States with the Hottest 2016 Housing Markets
Life + Money

12 States with the Hottest 2016 Housing Markets

© Larry Downing / Reuters

While U.S. housing prices increased impressively to start 2016, the gains were largely felt in just a dozen states. Home values rose 6.9 percent in January compared with a year ago, and were up 1.3 percent compared to December, according to CoreLogic’s most recent report.

The year-over-year increase exceeded 2015’s average and was the largest gain since August, when prices rose 7 percent from the year before.

The news comes a day after a report showed that pending home sales for January slipped 2.5 percent from December, but remained 1.4 percent higher than in January 2015. The National Association of Realtors attributed the slowdown mostly to higher prices and tight inventory.

Related: Prices Are Rising. Why Aren’t There More Homes For Sale?

“While January’s blizzard possibly caused some of the pullback in the Northeast, the recent acceleration in home prices and minimal inventory throughout the country appears to be the primary obstacle holding back would-be buyers,” said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun in a statement. “Additionally, some buyers could be waiting for a hike in listings come springtime.”

Taking a closer look at CoreLogic’s report, there were only 12 states that recorded price increases that outpaced the national average. Home values in the remaining 38 states and the District of Columbia missed the average, with Louisiana and Mississippi posting declines, at 1.1 percent and 1.3 percent respectively.

Here’s where the highest home value gains occurred in January:

No. 12: Utah -- 7% increase in home prices
December home sales, in the most recent data available, increased 10.1 percent from the year before; sales in 2015 were 15.6 percent higher than the previous year.

No. 11: Texas -- 7.2% increase in home prices
Texas home sales finished 2015 at all-time highs, with sales of houses priced over $1 million showing robust strength in major metros. Sales of homes in the state rose 4.1 percent over 2014 to 309,090 transactions, marking the first time annual sales topped 300,000.

No. 10: North Dakota -- 7.3% increase in home prices
Despite the rise in home values, the number of sales in the state plunged by almost two-thirds from January 2015. Houses took 109 days to sell, more than a month longer than the previous year, according to the state’s realtor association.

Related: Here’s a Part of the Housing Market That’s Really Booming

No. 9: Hawaii -- 7.5% increase in home prices
Sales of single-family homes in Hawaii edged up 4 percent over January 2015, led by a nearly 10.5 percent increase in transactions on Oahu. Condo sales fared better, rising 13.1 percent due to a 34.6-percent jump in deals on Kauai.

No. 8: Nevada -- 8% increase in home prices
Sales of single-family homes in the state’s biggest city, Las Vegas, increased 4.7 percent from last year, while condo and townhome deals rose 5.4 percent. Sales of distressed homes continue to decline from last year, helping boost prices.

No. 6: South Carolina (tied) -- 8.1% increase in home prices
Home sales in the state ended 2015 11.5 percent higher versus the previous year. The number of homes on the market and the months’ supply of inventory both finished down.

No. 6: California (tied) -- 8.1% increase in home prices
Pending home sales in January fell for the first time on a year-over-year basis since August 2014, declining 2.9 percent largely due to affordability and inventory issues. But the number of closed sales in the state jumped 8.8 percent from a year ago.

Related: The Surprising Problem That’s Holding Back the Housing Market

No. 5: Idaho -- 8.4% increase in home prices
Home sales in the state’s most populous county, Ada County, increased 7.7 percent from January 2015. The number of pending sales jumped 27.9 percent, while the number of homes listed for sale fell 11.5 percent from the year before.

No. 4: Florida -- 9.1% increase in home prices
Home sales in the Sunshine State increased 2.7 percent over last year, but were down 4.8 percent year-over-year for townhouse and condo sales. Still, the median price for all home types rose for the 50thmonth in a row.

No. 3: Oregon -- 10% increase in home prices
The volume of closed sales in Oregon’s largest city, Portland, was at the highest level since 1992. Closed sales jumped a whopping 25.9 percent compared with January 2015. But pending sales are 2.2 percent lower than a year ago.

No. 2: Colorado -- 10.9% increase in home prices
The volume of home sales and pending sales in Colorado both increased in January, up 13.4 percent and 12.6 percent respectively. However, the number of new listings slipped 2.6 percent from the previous year.

No. 1: Washington -- 11.6% increase in home prices
The volume of pending homes sales in northwest Washington dropped 5.3 percent from the year before, the first year-over-year decline since April 2014. The reason is largely depleted inventory of homes, with the number of for-sale houses down 27.7 percent from January 2015.

TOP READS FROM THE FISCAL TIMES