Home prices rose 7.4% in November compared with the same month a year ago, the largest monthly increase since May 2006 according to research firm CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX). The firm had previously forecast a rise of 7.1%.

Month-over-month, November prices rose 0.3%, including distressed home sales. Excluding distressed sales November prices rose 0.9% compared with October, and the year-over-year price also rose by 6.7%.

CoreLogic expects December housing prices to rise 7.9% year-over-year and to drop by 0.5% month-over-month as the seasonal slowdown in home sales heads into its third month. Excluding distressed sales, the year-over-year increase for December is forecast at 8.4% and the month-over-month estimate improves to a rise of 0.7%.

The company’s chief economist noted:

For the first time in almost six years, most U.S. markets experienced sustained increases in home prices in 2012. We still have a long way to go to return to 2005-2006 levels, but all signals currently point to a progressive stabilization of the housing market and the positive trend in home price appreciation to continue into 2013.

Including distressed sales, home prices rose the most in Arizona (prices up 20.9%), Nevada (14.2%), Idaho (13.8%), North Dakota (11.3%), and California (11.1%). Excluding distressed sales the biggest gains were posted in Arizona (16.3%), North Dakota (12.9%), Nevada (12.6%), Hawaii (11.6%), and Idaho (11.6%).

The CoreLogic press release is available here.

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