Home prices grow, but at a slower rate

The growth in U.S. home prices continued to decline in January, according to data released this week.

Prices grew 5.5 percent year-over-year during the first month of the year, that number marked the ninth consecutive month that price growth nationwide was lower than one year earlier, Irvine-based CoreLogic reported.

“While 2023 kicked off on a more optimistic note for the U.S. housing market, recent mortgage rate volatility highlights how much uncertainty remains,” said Selma Hepp, CoreLogic’s chief economist, in a statement “Nevertheless, the continued shortage of for-sale homes is likely to keep price declines modest.”

Those declines are projected to top out at about three percent from their highest to lowest point, Hepp said.

In the Inland Empire, home prices – including distressed properties, meaning in or near foreclosure – rose 3.5 percent in January year-over-year but were essentially unchanged from December, CoreLogic reported.