· According to the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight
(OFHEO),
home prices in the U.S. fell last quarter and that was the first q/q
decline since 1994. The decline pulled the y/y change in prices to a
still positive 1.7% but that overall rate of appreciation is down from
the double digit rates of gain during 2004 and 2005.
· The House Price Indices in this report are weighted indexes based on repeat sales or refinancings using data provided by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The overall figures are available in Haver's USECON data base and the state figures are in USREGIONAL
· Price declines were
scattered throughout the country. Job cutbacks in the auto industry
helped lower prices in Michigan for the sixth consecutive quarter and in
New York prices fell 0.5%. Prices in Florida fell for only the second
quarter but the y/y rate of gain of 1.3% compares to staggering rates of
growth in earlier years. Prices also fell in Massachusetts for the
fourth quarter in the last five (-1.0% y/y) and prices in Nevada fell
1.6% (-1.5% y/y).
· The latest report from the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) can be found here.
· Defining and Detecting Predatory Lending from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York is available here.