Global| Jul 22 2015U.S. FHFA Home Price Increase Remains Steady
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) increased 0.4% during May (5.7% y/y) following a 0.4% April gain, revised up from 0.3%. While prices reached the highest level since August 2007, the three- [...]
The U.S. House Price Index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) increased 0.4% during May (5.7% y/y) following a 0.4% April gain, revised up from 0.3%. While prices reached the highest level since August 2007, the three-month 4.6% rate of increase remained below the 8.5% rate of growth as of December.
Prices were strongest during May in the East North Central region with a 1.1% rise (5.2% y/y) followed by a 0.8% gain in the South Atlantic states (6.9% y/y). Increases of 0.7% were registered in both the Pacific (8.5% y/y) and Mountain (7.9% y/y) areas.
The West South Central region posted a lesser 0.3% increase in prices (6.4% y/y) while prices in the West North Central area improved 0.2% (4.6% y/y).
In the three remaining sections of the country, prices eased. A 0.6% decline was registered in the East South Central region (+5.0% y/y) and prices fell 0.5% in both New England (+2.1% y/y) and in the Middle Atlantic states (+0.9% y/y).
The FHFA house price index is a weighted repeat sales index. It measures average price changes in repeat sales. An associated quarterly index also includes refinancings on the same 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 is available in Haver's USECON database.
| FHFA U.S. House Price Index Purchase Only (SA %) | May | Apr | Mar | May Y/Y | 2014 | 2013 | 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.4 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 7.6 | 3.3 |
| Pacific | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.2 | 8.5 | 9.7 | 16.2 | 4.9 |
| Mountain | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 12.4 | 7.9 |
| South Atlantic | 0.8 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 6.9 | 6.0 | 8.1 | 3.9 |
| West South Central | 0.3 | 0.8 | 0.1 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 4.3 |
| East North Central | 1.1 | -0.6 | 0.8 | 5.2 | 4.8 | 5.4 | 2.1 |
| East South Central | -0.6 | 0.8 | 0.9 | 5.0 | 3.7 | 4.4 | 2.3 |
| West North Central | 0.2 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.9 | 3.2 |
| New England | -0.5 | 0.6 | -1.0 | 2.1 | 3.2 | 4.0 | -0.2 |
| Middle Atlantic | -0.5 | -0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 2.4 | 2.9 | -0.1 |
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Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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