By Elliot Njus | [email protected]
on April 01, 2014 at 10:10 AM, updated April 01, 2014 at 10:15 AM

Home prices climbed in the Portland area and across the country in February, a new report says, even as other data showed home sales slowed.

The real estate data firm CoreLogic reported U.S. home prices climbed 12.2 percent in February compared with a year earlier and 0.8 percent since January.

In the Portland metro, prices were 14.6 percent higher in February than a year ago and 1.9 percent higher than in January.

Oregon’s annual home-price increases were among the most drastic in the country, CoreLogic reported. Prices rose faster only in California, Nevada and Georgia.

“As the spring home-buying season kicks off, house price appreciation continues to be strong,” said Mark Fleming, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “Although prices should remain strong in the near term due to a short supply of homes on the market, price increases should moderate over the next year as home equity releases pent-up supply.”

CoreLogic projected U.S. home prices would continue to rise in March, but a little more slowly. The firm forecast a 10.5 percent year-over-year increase.

Rising prices may be contributing to a slowdown in sales, along with higher mortgage rates and that together price some would-be homebuyers out of the market. Poor weather across much of the country this winter has also weighed on sales.

The National Association of Realtors said earlier this month that existing sales declined 0.4 percent in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.6 million. That’s their lowest level since lowest level since July 2012. New home sales fell 3.3 percent in February, according to the Commerce Department.

In the Portland area, the Regional Multiple Listing Service said closed home sales were up 5 percent in February, but contracts for future sales fell nearly 9 percent.