FHFA House Price Index Increases 0.5 Percent in October

Home prices nationwide rose 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.2 percent increase in September was revised downward to a 0.0 percent change. For the 12 months ending in October, U.S. prices rose 5.6 percent. The U.S. index is 15.7 percent below its April 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the July 2004 index level. For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from September to October ranged from -1.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +2.0 percent in the Pacific division while the 12-month changes ranged from -0.1 percent in the New England division to +13.1 percent in the Mountain division. FHFA uses the purchase prices of houses with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to calculate the monthly index.