Springfield home prices rise across the board

Springfield home prices rose month to month and year to year in February, according to the latest data released by real estate market tracker CoreLogic.

Queen City home prices, including distressed sales, moved up 6.1 percent in February compared to the same month last year. They also were up 2.2 percent compared to January, according to a news release.

Excluding distressed sales - which comprise short sales and real estate owned transactions - Springfield home prices rose 5.1 percent compared to February 2014 and 2.2 percent compared to January.

In Missouri, home prices that factor distressed sales rose 7.1 percent from February 2014. Excluding distressed sales, prices were up 5.4 percent, according to the release.

U.S. home prices, including distressed sales, increased 5.6 percent year to year and 1.1 percent month to month. Excluding distressed sales, national prices in February were up 5.8 percent from a year earlier and 1.5 percent from a month earlier.

“This is the hottest home price appreciation prior to the spring selling season in nine years,” CoreLogic President and CEO Anand Nallathambi said in the release. “Assuming a benign interest rate environment and continued strong consumer confidence, we expect home prices to rise by an additional 5 percent over the next 12 months.”