Best and Worst Real Estate Markets by State
U.S. home prices increased by an average of more than 6% in May. Two states posted gains in the double digits, while three posted declines in home values for the month.
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Home prices rose 6.6% in May compared with the same month a year ago. Compared with April 2017 sales, prices rose 1.7%. Research firm CoreLogic expects June housing prices to rise another 5.3% year over year and by 0.9% month over month.
Only the states of Washington and Utah posted double-digit year-over-year home price growth in May, up 12.6% and 10.4%, respectively. Home price values fell in three states: Wyoming (−2.2%), West Virginia (−1.2%) and Alaska (−0.3%). The full CoreLogic listing of home price changes is included below.
The good news for homebuyers is that monthly increases have slowed since the beginning of the year. The not-so-good news is that the even the slower growth far outpaces income growth, making it harder for first-time buyers (especially) to get into the market.
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CoreLogic’s CEO Frank Martell put the current market into a broader context:
For current homeowners, the strong run-up in prices has boosted home equity and, in some cases, spending. For renters and potential first-time buyers, it is not such a pretty picture. With price appreciation and rental inflation outstripping income growth, affordability is destined to become a bigger issue in most markets.
Consumer spending is driven by how flush consumers feel, and homeowners who are seeing home prices rise every month should be feeling pretty flush with cash right now. The variation among CoreLogic’s top 10 metro areas is between a May rise of 9.2% in Denver and 2.2% in Houston.
Here’s CoreLogic’s listing of year-over-year home price index increases by state for May:
| State | Price % Increase | Rank |
| Washington | 12.60% | 1 |
| Utah | 10.40% | 2 |
| Colorado | 9.70% | 3 |
| Oregon | 9.00% | 4 |
| Idaho | 8.40% | 5 |
| New York | 7.50% | 6 |
| Nevada | 7.30% | 7 |
| Michigan | 6.80% | 8 |
| Massachusetts | 6.50% | 9 |
| Florida | 6.40% | 10 |
| Hawaii | 6.40% | 10 |
| Arizona | 6.10% | 12 |
| New Hampshire | 6.00% | 13 |
| Georgia | 5.90% | 14 |
| California | 5.80% | 15 |
| Alabama | 5.60% | 16 |
| Minnesota | 5.50% | 17 |
| North Carolina | 5.50% | 17 |
| Wisconsin | 5.50% | 17 |
| Nebraska | 5.20% | 20 |
| Arkansas | 5.10% | 21 |
| Indiana | 4.90% | 22 |
| Montana | 4.90% | 22 |
| Texas | 4.90% | 22 |
| Missouri | 4.70% | 25 |
| South Carolina | 4.60% | 26 |
| District of Columbia | 4.20% | 27 |
| Rhode Island | 4.20% | 27 |
| Tennessee | 4.20% | 27 |
| Illinois | 4.00% | 30 |
| Louisiana | 4.00% | 30 |
| New Mexico | 3.80% | 32 |
| Pennsylvania | 3.70% | 33 |
| Maryland | 3.60% | 34 |
| Mississippi | 3.60% | 34 |
| Iowa | 3.40% | 36 |
| North Dakota | 2.80% | 37 |
| Kansas | 2.70% | 38 |
| Kentucky | 2.70% | 38 |
| Vermont | 2.60% | 40 |
| New Jersey | 2.40% | 41 |
| Virginia | 2.40% | 41 |
| Maine | 2.10% | 43 |
| Ohio | 1.80% | 44 |
| Oklahoma | 1.70% | 45 |
| Connecticut | 1.00% | 46 |
| South Dakota | 0.80% | 47 |
| Delaware | 0.40% | 48 |
| Alaska | -0.30% | 49 |
| West Virginia | -1.20% | 50 |
| Wyoming | -2.20% | 51 |
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Paul Ausick has been writing for 247Wallst.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.
He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.
