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by Tom Moeller June 21, 2018
The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) index of U.S. house prices nudged 0.1% higher (6.4% y/y) during April after a 0.2% March rise, revised from 0.1%. Over the past three months, prices have risen at a 4.7% annual rate, down from a 9.1% rate as of February.
Around the country, monthly home price depreciation occurred during April in the West South Central (+6.0% y/y) and the Middle Atlantic (+4.9% y/y) regions.
Versus last year, home prices in the Mountain (8.9% y/y) and Pacific (8.3% y/y) regions exhibited the strongest rates of growth.
Moderated annual growth rates were realized in the South Atlantic (6.6% y/y) and West North Central (6.0% y/y) regions of the country.
Weaker rates of home price increase were found in the East South Central (5.6% y/y) and New England (4.9% y/y) regions of the country.
The FHFA house price index is a weighted purchase-only index that measures average price changes in repeat sales of the same property. An associated quarterly index also includes refinancings on the same kinds of properties. The indexes are based on transactions involving conforming, conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Only mortgage transactions on single-family properties are included. The FHFA data are available in Haver's USECON database.
| FHFA U.S. House Price Index, Purchase Only (SA %) |
Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 5.4 |
| Mountain | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 7.7 |
| Pacific | 0.1 | -0.3 | 1.4 | 8.3 | 8.8 | 8.1 | 7.8 |
| East North Central | 0.6 | -0.1 | 0.7 | 6.6 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 4.4 |
| South Atlantic | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.2 |
| West South Central | -0.5 | -0.2 | 1.6 | 6.0 | 6.6 | 6.0 | 6.2 |
| West North Central | 0.6 | -0.1 | 0.7 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 4.1 |
| East South Central | 0.4 | -0.4 | 1.0 | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| Middle Atlantic | -0.4 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 2.6 |
| New England | 0.5 | -0.8 | 1.0 | 4.9 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 3.3 |
|
