FHFA Housing Price Index Up 1.5 Percent In August, Up 8 Percent YOY

The Federal Housing Finance Agency released its Housing Price Index for August 2020 which reports a 1.5% increase from July 2020. The HPI also reported an 8% rise in house prices from August 2019 to August 2020.

"U.S. house prices posted a strong increase in August," said Dr. Lynn Fisher, the FHFA’s deputy director of the Division of Research and Statistics. "Between July and August 2020, national prices increased by 1.5 percent, which represents the largest one-month price increase observed since the start of the index in 1991. This large month-over-month gain contributes to an already strong increase in prices over the summer. These price gains can be attributed to the historically-low interest rate environment, rebounding housing demand, and continued supply constraints."

Of the nine census divisions, the Mountain region saw the largest price change with a 9.7% increase in home prices. The other eight regions saw 12-month changes ranging from a 7.2% increase in the West North Central region to an 8.8% increase in the East South Central region.

"As home prices continue to increase at a rapid pace, mortgage brokers across the United States should view this as an opportunity," said Austin Niemiec, Rocket Pro TPO executive vice president, when referring to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Index, which also reported an increase in home prices for August 2020. "The market is red hot – home sales are at historically high levels and refinancing isn’t slowing down. Even with brokers running on all cylinders, it is a great time for them to reinvest and build their business, so they are prepared for any market condition for years to come."

View the full FHFA HPI.