Corridor home prices rose slightly in October

Home prices rose modestly in the Cedar Rapids-Iowa City Corridor in October amid increasing demand, low inventory and attractive mortgage interest rates.

In Cedar Rapids, home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 2.5 percent in October 2016 compared with October 2015, according to CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif.-based analytics company. On a month-over-month basis, Cedar Rapids home prices, including distressed sales - houses sold at a loss - increased by 0.1 percent in October 2016 compared with September 2016.

CoreLogic reported home prices in Iowa City, including distressed sales, increased by 2.4 percent in October 2016 compared with October 2015. On a month-over-month basis, Iowa City home prices, including distressed sales, decreased by 0.1 percent in October 2016 compared with September 2016.

Home prices nationwide, including distressed sales, increased by 6.7 percent year over year in October 2016, compared with October 2015. Prices rose 1.1 percent month over month in October 2016, compared with September 2016.

'Only nine states had home price growth at the same rate of growth or higher than the national average because the largest states - such as Texas, Florida and California - are experiencing high rates of home price appreciation,” Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a news release.

Anand Nallathambi, CoreLogic president and CEO, said in a statement that home prices are being fueled by high demand, low inventories and historically low interest rates.

'Home prices are continuing to soar across much of the U.S., led by major metro areas such as Boston, Los Angeles, Miami and Denver,” Nallathambi said. 'Looking forward to next year, nationwide home prices are expected to climb another five percent in many parts of the country to levels approaching the pre-recession peak.”

The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages backed by the Federal Housing Administration increased to four percent last week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, its highest level since July 2015,

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