Homeprices in the U.S., including distressed sales, rose 6.8% year over year inFebruary, CoreLogic reported April 5, citing the latest reading of its homeprice index.

Comparedto January, home prices, including distressed sales, were up 1.1%.

Allstates saw positive movement in prices year over year, with Colorado, Floridaand Washington registering increases greater than 10% for the year.

"Fixed-ratemortgage rates dropped more than one-quarter of a percentage point in the firstthree months of 2016, and job creation averaged 209,000 over the same period,"Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic, said in a release. "Theseeconomic forces will sustain home purchases during the spring and support the5.2% home price appreciation CoreLogic has projected for the next year."

AnandNallathambi, president and CEO of CoreLogic, said that better economicconditions and tight inventories continue to drive "exceptionally strong"gains in many markets, particularly for homes priced less than $500,000.