By Gretchen Wegrich Updated on 1/15/2013

By Gretchen Wegrich

The cost of buying a home increased 7.4 percent year-over-year in November 2012, indicated a report released Jan. 11 by housing data-cruncher CoreLogic.

 Notably, this figure represents the largest increase since May 2006 and the ninth straight month that year-over-year housing prices have gone up. Excluding distressed sales lowers the increase to 6.7 percent.

The Housing Price Index released by CoreLogic also indicated that 44 states experienced housing price increases during November. The states which failed to post gains were Rhode Island (-0.3 percent), New Jersey (-0.5 percent), Delaware (-4.9 percent), Illinois (-2.2 percent), Connecticut (-0.5 percent) and Alabama (-2.2 percent).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the states which posted the largest price gains were North Dakota, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada and California.

“Given the recently released Qualified Mortgage rules issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are not expected to significantly restrict credit availability relative to today, the gains made in 2012 will likely be sustained in 2013,” said Mark Fleming, chief economist at CoreLogic.

December home prices, including distressed sales, were predicted to rise 7.9 percent compared to December 2011, Corelogic predicted. Excluding distressed sales bumps this figure to a robust 8.4 percent year-over-year.

"For the first time in almost six years, most U.S. markets experienced sustained increases in home prices in 2012," said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic. "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."

Corelogic’s November Housing Price Index is visible on the map below. 

Gretchen Wegrich

Gretchen Wegrich is an editor at Lender411. She specializes in mortgage basics, personal finance and green living. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in writing from University of California, San Diego and previously worked at the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Contact her at gretchen@lender411com.