Global| Nov 27 2018U.S. FHFA House Price Increase Eases
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.2% (6.0% y/y) during September following a 0.4% August rise, revised from 0.3%. Over the last three months, the index rose at a lessened 4.1% annual [...]
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Price Index for house purchases rose 0.2% (6.0% y/y) during September following a 0.4% August rise, revised from 0.3%. Over the last three months, the index rose at a lessened 4.1% annual rate, down from a 7.8% rate of increase six months earlier.
Prices in the Mountain region strengthened 1.3% (9.5% y/y). The East North Central region posted a firm 0.6% increase (6.2% y/y) while home prices in the South Atlantic region rose 0.4% (7.1% y/y). In New England, home prices also gained 0.4% (5.2% y/y).
A lesser 0.2% increase (4.1% y/y) in home prices was logged in the Middle Atlantic region. The home price index for the West South Central region improved 0.1% (4.4% y/y) and prices also ticked 0.1% higher (4.4% y/y) in the West South Central region.
Weakening by 1.1% (+5.5% y/y) were house prices in the Pacific region. In the West North Central region prices eased 0.1% (+5.1% y/y).
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 %) |
Sep | Aug | Jul | Sep Y/Y | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 6.0 | 6.7 | 6.1 | 5.4 |
| New England | 0.4 | 0.7 | -0.0 | 5.2 | 5.9 | 4.1 | 3.3 |
| Middle Atlantic | 0.2 | -0.4 | 0.3 | 4.1 | 4.9 | 3.7 | 2.6 |
| East North Central | 0.6 | 0.3 | 0.5 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 5.4 | 4.3 |
| West North Central | -0.1 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 5.1 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 4.0 |
| South Atlantic | 0.4 | 0.6 | 1.1 | 7.1 | 7.0 | 7.0 | 6.2 |
| East South Central | 0.1 | 0.6 | -0.2 | 6.3 | 5.9 | 5.1 | 4.6 |
| West South Central | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 4.4 | 6.5 | 5.8 | 6.2 |
| Mountain | 1.3 | 0.6 | -0.0 | 9.5 | 8.8 | 7.9 | 7.6 |
| Pacific | -1.1 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 5.5 | 8.7 | 8.0 | 7.7 |
New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont,
Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.
Middle Atlantic: New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
East North Central: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.
West North Central: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska,
Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, D.C., Virginia, West Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
East South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.
West South Central: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana.
Mountain: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and
New Mexico.
Pacific: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington.
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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