CoreLogic, the Folks I Trust, Tell Us Dallas Home Prices Up More Than 10% YOY

You know why I like the folks at CoreLogic, right, and why I put more weight in their real estate reports than I do the lovelies at Case-Shiller? CoreLogic filters out distressed sales in its reports, which is important. So it’s like that old Paine-Webber commercial: when CoreLogic talks, I listen.

And the Irvine, CA based company says nationwide home prices rose 12.4 percent in August from a year earlier. Dallas-area home prices were up just over 10 percent in the latest comparison. The study compared August, 2013 home prices with where they were a year ago.

Looking back, there has been cooling off as the rate of home price growth slowed between July and August. This could mean moderation in the hot housing market.

“We anticipate moderate gains in home prices over the balance of this year, supported by the recent downward trend in rates and continued tight supplies of homes in many markets,” said Anand Nallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic.

Shocker: the biggest August price increases were in Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif., up 23.4 percent, and Los Angeles, up 22.5 percent. And lookie there at Phoenix-Mesa. I just interviewed a major broker in Phoenix, Walt Danley, owner and CEO of Walt Danley Real Estate in Phoenix and Scottsdale. He told me prices are perking back up, 12 to 15% from that bottom, which pretty much correlates with the non-distressed side of the chart above.

“There is no doubt that at the peak, we were overvalued, and at the trough, we were undervalued,” he says. “Which mean our prices now are getting to the RIGHT values.”

Phoenix home prices are up 8% year over year, says Danley,  a slow, gradual trend translating to a point to a half point per month on a square foot basis. Paradise Valley, which is in-between Scottsdale and Phoenix, is Arizona’s most affluent neighborhood and Danley told me of an interesting phenomenon there: snowbirds and pre-retirees buying homes now to lease for a few years, before they settle into them as permanent retirement homes.

And oh my word: here’s a Paradise Valley listing with a Lazy River AND putting green right in the back yard. 10,000 plus square feet, five bedrooms, six baths, a fireplace in the kitchen and breakfast room, open floor plan, telescoping walls of glass open to the outdoors and views of Mummy Mountain.  There’ s a library/office,  game room, theater, and onyx wet bar. Now this is a master suite: its own exercise room, furniture grade cabinetry and luxurious spa-inspired bathroom.  The backyard has a lazy river pool, two spas, two barbecue areas, and numerous private patios. I think there’s also two kitchens. This home will set you back $5,750,000 in Paradise Valley, but jeeze louise, look at what all you get? Psst: It’s empty!