Dec. home prices see 11% annual rise

Home prices were up 11% in December year over year as 2013 marked the strongest year for home price gains since 2005, market watcher CoreLogic says.

Ten states and the District of Columbia reached new all-time price peaks, mostly in the second half of the year, CoreLogic says.

Home price gains this year are not expected to be as robust. Rising prices will attract more sellers, leading to an increased supply of homes on the market, and that will have a "moderating effect on prices," says Mark Fleming, CoreLogic chief economist.

The 10 states hitting all-time price peaks tend to be ones with strong energy economies or places where the home price bubble didn't inflate as much so prices fell less during the downturn.

The states are Texas, North Dakota, Nebraska, Vermont, South Dakota, Iowa, Colorado, Alaska, Oklahoma and Wyoming, CoreLogic's data shows.

It's hardly surprising that 2013 was the strongest year for home price gains since 2005. The historic housing bust took off in earnest in 2006 and it wasn't until 2011 before prices started to recover in the first major markets.

Most economists see price growth slowing a lot this year, but the nagging question remains how much inventory will come on the market.

As of December, housing inventories were still tight at a 4.6-month supply, down from a 5.1-month supply in November, the National Association of Realtors says.

Typically, Realtors consider a six-month supply to be a balanced market. Disappointing job growth and limited supply caused the housing market to lose some momentum at the end of the year, NAR says.