Global| Jun 29 2021U.S. FHFA House Price Index Jumps Again in April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
• Home price appreciation accelerates. • Record price increases are logged m/m and y/y. • Double-digit annual gains spread across the country. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index surged 1.8% (15.7 % y/y) during [...]
• Home price appreciation accelerates.
• Record price increases are logged m/m and y/y.
• Double-digit annual gains spread across the country.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index surged 1.8% (15.7 % y/y) during April after rising 1.6% in March, revised from 1.4%. Prices are strong due to firm demand, low mortgage rates and limited home supplies. The home price series dates back to January 1991.
By region, house prices were strong throughout the country. The strongest y/y growth was logged in the Mountain region (20.6% y/y) and New England (18.0% y/y). These gains were followed by the Pacific (17.6% y/y), Middle Atlantic (16.3% y/y) and the South Atlantic (16.0% y/y) regions.
Somewhat lesser growth was recorded in the East South Central (14.8% y/y), East North Central (14.1% y/y), West South Central (13.2% y/y) and West North Central (13.0% 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 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 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 1.8 | 1.6 | 1.1 | 15.7 | 7.8 | 5.2 | 6.3 |
| New England | 2.1 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 18.0 | 8.2 | 4.7 | 5.2 |
| Middle Atlantic | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 16.3 | 7.4 | 4.4 | 5.2 |
| East North Central | 1.3 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 14.1 | 7.7 | 5.4 | 6.3 |
| West North Central | 1.2 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 13.0 | 7.2 | 5.1 | 5.8 |
| South Atlantic | 1.4 | 2.0 | 0.7 | 16.0 | 8.1 | 5.6 | 6.8 |
| East South Central | 2.0 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 14.8 | 8.2 | 5.8 | 5.9 |
| West South Central | 1.8 | 1.0 | 1.7 | 13.2 | 6.4 | 4.6 | 5.0 |
| Mountain | 2.6 | 2.5 | 1.6 | 20.6 | 9.8 | 7.0 | 9.0 |
| Pacific | 1.9 | 1.8 | 1.7 | 17.6 | 8.0 | 4.6 | 7.2 |
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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