A U.S. flag decorates a for-sale sign at a home in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, August 21, 2012. (Photo: Reuters)
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) showed U.S. house prices rose in October, up 0.5% from the previous month. Further, the previously reported 0.3% increase in September was revised upward to 0.5%.
The rise in U.S. home prices has been an underreported story in 2017, as the FHFA HPI and the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index (HPI) have both showed extraordinary strength. The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller HPI has hit one record after another over the year, hitting an all-time high 3 months in a row.
The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From October 2016 to October 2017, house prices were up 6.6%, and were up 6.5% from September with the revision.
For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from September 2017 to October 2017 ranged from -0.4% in the West North Central division to +2.8% in the East South Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +4.8% in the West North Central division to +8.7% in the Pacific division.
