Patrick Lawler Price Quotations

On the contrary, house price inflation continues to accelerate as some areas that have experienced relatively slow appreciation are picking up steam, ... There is no evidence here of prices topping out.

While deceleration continues in some areas, appreciation generally is still extremely strong. Mortgage rates climbed significantly during the second half of last year, but the effect of that increase on price appreciation so far appears to be limited.

Some deceleration can be seen in a number of the faster-appreciating markets. Price momentum in the Pacific and New England states, in particular, has pulled back.

Despite recent indications that a slowdown may be forthcoming, house price appreciation during 2005 continued to hover at hear-record levels.

The continued price increases are a result of many factors including low mortgage interest rates and the apparent impact of speculative investing.