National home prices posted annual gains for the second month in a row during April, although prices were lower in 24 of 50 states, according to a home-price index maintained by CoreLogic.
The home-price index showed home prices nationwide were up 2.6 percent from a year ago in April — a reflection of "the lingering effects of the homebuyer tax credit," said CoreLogic Chief Economist Mark Fleming in a statement.
"We expect that we will see home prices remain strong through early summer, but in the second half of the year we expect price growth to soften and possibly decline moderately."
Even with recent gains, the index showed national home prices down 29.5 percent from their April 2006 peak.
The 10 states with the greatest annual price appreciation during April were:
1. Hawaii (13.4 percent)
2. Massachusetts (7.4 percent)
3. California (7.3 percent)
4. Virginia (6.5 percent)
5. New Hampshire (5.2 percent)
6. Maine (4.8 percent)
7. Ohio (3.9 percent)
8. Missouri (3.8 percent)
9. Rhode Island (3.6 percent)
10. Nebraska (3.6 percent)
The 10 states with the greatest annual price declines during April in CoreLogic’s home-price index were:
1. Idaho (-7.2 percent)
2. Illinois (-5.8 percent)
3. Nevada (-4.6 percent)
4. Maryland (-4.3 percent)
5. Washington (-3.7 percent)
6. Pennsylvania (-3.7 percent)
7. Mississippi (-3.7 percent)
8. Florida (-3.5 percent)
9. Alabama (-3.5 percent)
10. Oregon (-2.6 percent)
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