Bob Brackney on Topeka's Real Estate & Financing Markets

Bob Brackney Earns First National Luxury Home Designation in Topeka

Topeka, KS – August 30, 2010 – Bob Brackney, real estate broker with 1 Source Real Estate in Topeka was recently awarded the first Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS) Designation in the Topeka area from The Luxury Home Council. (second in Kansas.)

The Accredited Luxury Home Specialist (ALHS) Logo is testimony to the agent’s training and expertise in the luxury home marketplace. To display the ALHS logo and be accepted into the Luxury Home Council, each member must successfully complete the Accredited Luxury Home Specialist Course, represent a buyer or seller in at least two “Luxury” transactions and the agent must be in good standing with the National Association of REALTORS®.

Luxury Home Council Members receive numerous benefits to assist in marketing and selling upscale properties. Advantages of membership include access to the members only section of www.luxuryhomecouncil.com and www.luxuryhomesandproperties.com to market luxury listings, a subscription to The Luxury Home Expert a monthly online magazine, discounts on products and services, access to the REALTYU® Alumni Association and the ALHS database for networking and referral opportunities.

Bob Brackney joins an elite membership of top real estate agents throughout the United States.

Members must subscribe to a dedication like no others. They strive to provide exceptional service to affluent clients through rigorous education focusing on the Luxury Home Market and their understanding of the special demands of affluent buyers and sellers. Members of the Luxury Home Council are professionals; they value the client/agent relationship and are assuredly, the best in the country.

For more information contact Bob Brackney at (785) 273-6500 or The Luxury Home Council at

1 (800) 480-5150, email: support@luxuryhomecouncil.com.

Home Prices Increase in April

National home prices increased in April, the second consecutive monthly increase. According to the CoreLogic HPI, national home prices, including distressed sales, increased by 2.6 percent in April 2010 compared to April 2009. This was an improvement over March's year-over-year price increase of 2.3 percent.* Excluding distressed sales, year-over-year prices increased in April by 2.2 percent; an improvement over the March non-distressed HPI which increased by 1.0 percent** year-over-year.

On a month-over-month basis, the national average home price index increased by 0.8 percent in April 2010 compared to March 2010, which was stronger than the previous one-month increase of 0.1 percent from February to March.

• Including distressed transactions, the peak-to-current change in the national HPI (from April 2006 to April 2010) is -29.5 percent. Excluding distressed properties, the peak-to-current change in the HPI is -21.1 percent.
• Including distressed sales, 60 of the top 100 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs) increased on a year-over-year basis in April. The number of CBSAs with increasing HPI has been improving steadily since April 2009 when all of the top 100 CBSAs had falling year-over-year HPI.
• The five best states for year-over-year price appreciation excluding distressed sales are Virginia (+3.6 percent), New York (+3.7 percent), North Dakota (+6.0 percent), California (+8.4 percent), and Hawaii (+10.6 percent).
• When distressed sales were included, Idaho (-7.2 percent) remained in first place as the top-ranked state for annual price depreciation in April, followed by Illinois (-5.8 percent), Nevada (-4.6 percent), Maryland (-4.3 percent) and Washington (-3.7 percent). Month-over-month appreciation was positive between March and April for all of these states.
• Excluding distressed sales, the worst five states for year-over-year price declines changes slightly. Nevada (-5.6 percent) was the top decliner, followed by Michigan (-4.1 percent), Arizona (-3.4 percent), Florida (-3.4 percent) and Washington (-3.1 percent).

"The monthly increase in the HPI shows the lingering effects of the homebuyer tax credit," said Mark Fleming, chief economist for CoreLogic. "We expect that we will see home prices remain strong through early summer, but in the second half of the year we expect price growth to soften and possibly decline moderately."

*March's year-over-year data was revised from 1.7 percent to 2.3 percent, **and excluding distressed sales data was revised from 1.9 percent to 1.0 percent. Revisions with public record data are standard, and to ensure accuracy, CoreLogic incorporates the newly released public data to provide updated results.

Click here to download the full April HPI data report.

Most Current, Most Comprehensive HPI Data

CoreLogic HPI monthly updates offer the quickest HPI collateral valuation information in the industry—complete HPI datasets five weeks after month's end plus key indices for the two weeks after that—and leverage the full authority of CoreLogic's industry-leading real estate databases, covering 6,208 Zip codes, 572 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSAs), and 1,027 counties in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

CoreLogic HPI covers 6,208 ZIP codes, 572 Core Based Statistical Areas (CBSA) and 1,027 counties in all 50 states and the District of Columbia (more).

CoreLogic National HPI 12 Month Change: 2.6%, Single Family Combined Series, April 2010

Source: CoreLogic HPI, Single-Family Combined (Detached and Attached) as of April, 2010.