FHFA's Home Price Index Remains Unchanged in January

U.S. house prices were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.7 percent increase in December was revised downward to reflect a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices fell 0.8 percent. The U.S. index is 19.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the February 2004 index level. The FHFA's HPI is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that  have been sold to or guaranteed by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -1.7 percent in the West South Central division to +4.7 percent in the West North Central division.