Recent Updates
- US: Consumer Sentiment (Aug-prelim), Import/Export Prices (Jul)
- US: Consumer Sentiment Detail (Aug-prelim)
- US: Vehicle Miles Driven by State (Jun)
- Bulgaria: Agricultural PPI (Q2) Central Bank Survey (Jul)
- Blue Chip: Blue Chip Economic Indicators (Aug)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
U.S. Housing Affordability Declines Further in June
The NAR Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index fell 3.6% in June...
EMU Output Makes Solid Gain in June
The European Monetary Union posted a 0.7% increase for industrial output in June...
U.S. Producer Prices Fall During July; Core Increase Weakens
The Producer Price Index for Final Demand fell 0.5% during July...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Continue on an Uptrend
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended August 6 rose 14,000 to 262,000...
RICS Survey Points to More U.K. Housing Sector Weakness
The survey of housing market conditions in the U.K. continues to show strength in prices versus weakness...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller June 29, 2021
• 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 |
