Black Knight HPI Shows local Price Weaknesses

California has long been acknowledged as the trend-setting state.  Let's hope that isn't the case for home prices.  On the same day that both S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHA) came out with figures, reported here earlier, showing price gains were still accelerating in most of the nation, Black Knight Financial Services said "whoops" regarding the Golden State.

Black Knight's Home Price Index (HPI) showed home prices nationwide up 5.5 percent year-over-year and 0.1 percent from October to November, California home prices declined for the second straight month.  Its HPI was at $448,000, down 0.2 percent from October although still up a healthy 7.6 percent compared to November 2014.  California had also declined 0.2 percent in October but the year-over-year gain for that month was also 7.6 percent.

Perhaps the state deserves a breather.  Prices there have risen 51.0 percent from the market's low point in January 2012.  Black Knight said despite the two month dip, "seasonally adjusted numbers suggest continued but slowing growth for the state" which is still 14.1 percent below its peak pre-crash level.

The national number, $253,000, is up 27 percent from the market trough and is only 5.3 percent off of the peak reached in June 2006.

Among states the strongest month-over-month price gains were in New York (1.2 percent which gave it a new all-time high of $357,000), South Carolina (0.6 percent) and Oregon, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Utah at 0.5 percent.  California was not alone in losing ground; Ohio was down 0.4 percent as was Connecticut.  New Hampshire, Wisconsin, and Virginia, all dipped by 0.3 percent.

Among Metro areas New York City, Cape Coral and Naples all scored 1.0 percent gains.  Milwaukee had the largest decrease at 0.7 percent and Cleveland, Springfield, and Mansfield Ohio; Decatur and Rockford, Illinois, and Springfield, Massachusetts were all at -0.6 percent.

On the other side of the coin, Tennessee and Texas again set new price peaks as did seven of the 40 largest metro areas.