Annual home-price growth fastest in seven years

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)
Supported by growing demand and low inventory, home prices continued to run ahead in April, when year-over-year growth hit the fastest pace in more than seven years, according to data released Tuesday
Including short sales and other distressed properties, home prices in April were up 12.1% from the same period in the prior year, the highest rate since February 2006, according to CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif.-based analysis firm
"Increasing demand for new and existing homes, coupled with low inventory, has created a virtuous cycle for price gains, most clearly seen in the Western states with year-over-year gains of 20% or more," said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic's chief economist