Fannie Mae Says Home Prices Jumped 20% Last Year

Home prices are up 20% year over year, Fannie Mae reported Friday, and, during this year’s first quarter, housing prices jumped again by nearly 5%. The GSE, which securitizes mortgage loans, measures the country’s home price trends through its Home Price Index.

The GSE says that between the first quarter of 2021 and this year's first quarter, home prices were up 20%. It also said that during the year's first quarter alone home prices jumped another 4.8%.

“The Home Price Index sped up in the first quarter due to continue strong homebuying demand and a lack of inventory,” Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said. “We believe recent homebuying demand was augmented by may homebuyers pulling forward their home purchase plans in anticipation of rising mortgage rates.

“With (interest) rates having sharply risen since the start of the year – and some of that homebuying demand now met – we expect price growth to begin cooling as the year progresses.”

Fannie Mae says its Home Price Index is produced by accumulating homes sales data from the nation’s counties to create both seasonally adjusted and non-seasonally adjusted national indices that show the trends of single-family home prices.