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Economy in Brief
U.S. Home Builder Sentiment Posts Solid Gain, Led by South and West
The NAHB-Wells Fargo Composite Housing Market Index rose for the fourth consecutive month to 71 in October from 68 in September...
U.S. Business Inventories Hold Steady as Sales Rise
Total business inventories were unchanged during August (4.2% y/y)...
U.S. Gasoline Prices Fall
In the week ended October 14, the U.S. pump price for gasoline eased to $2.63 per gallon (-8.7% y/y)...
U.S. Mortgage Applications for Refinancing Rise While Those for Purchase Slip
The MBA Mortgage Loan Index edged up 0.5% w/w (81.8% y/y) in the week ending October 11...
The Grip of Weakness Or the Gripe of Slow Growth?
The Grip of Weakness Or the Gripe of Slow Growth?...
by Tom Moeller July 23, 2019
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that its House Price Index for home purchases inched 0.1% higher during May after an unrevised 0.4% April rise. It was the weakest m/m gain since January 2017 and lowered the y/y rate of increase to 5.0%, down from the 7.6% peak y/y rate gain in January 2018. Over the past six months, prices have increased at a 4.4% annual rate.
For the nine census divisions, the seasonally adjusted monthly change in house prices in May ranged from -1.0% m/m in East South Central region to 0.5% in the South Atlantic region. Prices declined in May in four regions of the country.
Increases during the last twelve months also varied significantly. Home prices rose 6.7% y/y in the Mountain region, down from a 10.3% recent peak in January 2018. Prices rose a greatly lessened 3.6% y/y in the West South Central region, half the rate of increase early in 2018.
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 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 %) |
May | Apr | Mar | May Y/Y | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.2 | 5.0 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.0 |
| New England | 0.4 | 0.5 | -0.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.1 |
| Middle Atlantic | 0.4 | -0.0 | 0.5 | 4.4 | 5.5 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| East North Central | 0.3 | 0.5 | -0.5 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 6.0 | 5.3 |
| West North Central | 0.1 | -0.3 | 1.3 | 4.8 | 6.2 | 5.4 | 5.6 |
| South Atlantic | 0.5 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 5.6 | 7.2 | 6.8 | 6.9 |
| East South Central | -1.0 | 1.1 | -0.5 | 6.6 | 6.3 | 5.8 | 5.0 |
| West South Central | -0.5 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 3.6 | 5.4 | 6.5 | 5.7 |
| Mountain | -0.3 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 6.7 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 7.8 |
| Pacific | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 4.5 | 7.6 | 8.6 | 8.0 |
|
