CoreLogic: home prices get spring bump

Shadow inventory down 18 percent from January 2010 peak

Home prices got a seasonal bump for the second month in a row in May, and the “shadow inventory” of distressed properties was shrinking in April, according to two recent reports from loan data aggregator and analytics firm CoreLogic.

CoreLogic’s Home Price Index showed home prices increasing by a nonseasonally adjusted 0.8 percent from April to May, but were down 7.4 percent from a year ago.

Excluding distressed sales — short sales and real estate owned (REO) properties — the year-over-year price decline was a more modest 0.4 percent.

If distressed sales were included, nine out of 10 of the country’s largest metro areas saw year-over-year price declines, compared to only half if distressed sales were excluded.