FHFA Says Annual Price Gains Still Over 6 Percent

Like most measures of monthly home price appreciation, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index (HPI) has slowed in recent months but not quite as much as others. That index, which is based on the sales prices of homes financed with mortgages from either Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae, rose 0.3 percent in August on a seasonally adjusted basis.  The July increase, reported at 0.2 percent, was revised upward to 0.4 percent.

On a year-over-year basis the increase nationwide was 6.1 percent, again showing significant slowing since the first of the year but remaining stronger than most other indices.  In January and February 2018 the annual increases were running over 7 percent, decelerating to 6.5 percent by June. 

Among the nine census divisions the only decline in the seasonally adjusted monthly prices from July to August was in the Middle Atlantic division, down 0.7 percent.  The largest increase was 0.8 percent gain in the Pacific division.  The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from 4.0 percent appreciation in the Middle Atlantic division to 8.4 percent in the Mountain division.

The FHFA HPI was indexed to 100 in January 1991. The current reading is 266.0.