Home Prices Increasing

Home prices have shown the biggest rise in six years, and continue to accelerate in most local markets, including Jacksonville area. CoreLogic, a real estate data provider, says average home prices rose 8.3 percent in December compared with a year earlier, the biggest annual gain since May 2006. Prices rose last year in 46 of 50 states.   And because sales usually slow over the winter months, the fact that home prices also rose 0.4 percent in December from the previous month is an especially healthy sign. Steady increases in prices accomplish three objectives. 1) They encourage some people to sell homes, 2) they entice some would-be buyers to purchase homes before prices rise further, and 3) higher prices can also make…