"DEAL SEARCHER": US house prices up for third month in a row

House prices in America are less than 1 per cent below 2011 levels, according to the latest CoreLogic report.

Nationally, home prices (including distressed sales) fell by just 0.6 per cent year-on-year, while monthly figures suggest an encouraging growth of 0.6 per cent in March from February - the first monthly increase since July 2011. Excluding distressed sales, the numbers are even more impressive, with house prices increasing for the third month in a row.

The CoreLogic House Price Index also shows that year-over-year prices, excluding distressed sales, rose by 0.9 percent in March 2012 compared to March 2011. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned (REO) transactions.

"This spring the housing market is responding to an improving balance between real estate supply and demand which is causing stabilization in house prices," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "Although this has been the case in each of the last two years, the difference this year is that stabilization is occurring without the support of tax credits and in spite of a declining share of REO sales."

"While housing prices remain flat nationally, in many markets tighter inventories are beginning to lift home prices," said Anand Nallathambi, president and chief executive officer of CoreLogic. "This is true in Phoenix, New York and Washington, for example, which all reflect higher home price values than a year ago. A continuation of this trend will be good for our industry across

U.S.