Global| Jul 22 2020U.S. FHFA House Price Index Declines
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Prices fall throughout the country. • Notable declines are logged in several areas. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index fell 0.3% (+4.9% y/y) during May following a 0.1% April rise, revised from 0.2%. During [...]
• Prices fall throughout the country.
• Notable declines are logged in several areas.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index fell 0.3% (+4.9% y/y) during May following a 0.1% April rise, revised from 0.2%. During the last three months, house prices have been unchanged, down from a 9.1% rate of increase as of February.
Prices fell in several regions of the country with the largest declines logged in New England where they were off 1.0% (+3.7% y/y). That shortfall was followed by a 0.8% price drop in the Pacific region. The y/y gain eased to 4.0% from 6.5% in February.
Lesser price declines were posted throughout the country. Prices fell 0.4% (+5.8% y/y) in the East South Central area and in the East North Central region prices declined 0.3% (+5.0% y/y). Prices also weakened 0.3% in the Mountain states. Here, the 6.3% y/y gain compares to 8.6% in March. Prices declined 0.2% (+4.7% y/y) in the West South Central region, and in the West North Central region they eased slightly (+5.0% y/y).
Minimal improvement in house prices was evident in the South Atlantic region, up a lessened 4.9% y/y, and prices held steady (4.6% y/y) in the Middle Atlantic states.
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 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | -0.3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| New England | -1.0 | -0.4 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 4.6 | 5.2 | 5.6 |
| Middle Atlantic | 0.0 | 0.1 | -0.1 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.7 |
| East North Central | -0.3 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 5.0 | 5.5 | 6.4 | 5.8 |
| West North Central | -0.0 | 0.6 | -0.5 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 5.1 |
| South Atlantic | 0.1 | -0.5 | 0.1 | 4.9 | 5.8 | 7.0 | 6.5 |
| East South Central | -0.4 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 5.6 |
| West South Central | -0.2 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 5.2 | 6.1 |
| Mountain | -0.3 | -0.1 | 0.9 | 6.3 | 7.1 | 9.1 | 8.4 |
| Pacific | -0.8 | -0.1 | 0.0 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 7.4 | 8.4 |
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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