Corridor, U.S. home prices rise in March

The housing market continued to show signs of recovery in March with average home prices rising in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City and the nation when compared with the same month in 2013.

Cedar Rapids home prices - including distressed sales - increased by 5.1 percent in March compared with the same month in 2013, according to data from CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif., residential property information, analytics and services provider. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased by 6.3 percent in March compared with March 2013.

On a month-over-month basis, Cedar Rapids home prices including distressed sales increased by 1.1 percent in March, compared with February 2014. Home prices excluding distressed sales decreased by 1.5 percent in March compared with the previous month.

Iowa City home prices - including distressed sales - increased by 4.1 percent in March compared with March 2013. Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased by 3 percent in March compared with the same month of 2013.

On a month-over-month basis, Iowa City home prices - including distressed sales - decreased by 1 percent in March compared with February 2014. Excluding distressed sales, month-over-month prices decreased by 1 percent in March 2014 compared with February 2014.

Home prices nationwide - including distressed sales - increased 11.1 percent in March 2014 compared with March 2013. The change represents 25 months of consecutive year-over-year increases in home prices nationally.

On a month-over-month basis, home prices nationwide - including distressed sales - increased by 1.4 percent in March compared with February 2014.

Excluding distressed sales, home prices increased 0.9 percent in March 2014 compared with February 2014. On a year-over-year basis, home prices - excluding distressed sales - increased by 9.5 percent in March compared with March 2013.

Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic, said March data on new and existing home sales was weaker than expected and is a cause for concern.

'Interest rate-disenfranchised potential sellers are adding to the existing shadow inventory, while buyers who can't find what they want to buy are on the sidelines creating a new kind of ‘shadow demand,'” Fleming said.

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