Home prices inched forward in January, rising only 0.6% from the previous month but up 5.6% from the previous year, according to the latest monthly House Price Index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because of this, the selection excludes high-end homes bought with jumbo loans or cash sales.
The report explains across the nine census divisions, the East North Central division saw the strongest appreciation growth, rising 1.1% in January. However, New England’s results weren’t as positive, as appreciation growth declined 0.7%.
That being said, the report highlights that the 12-month changes were all positive, with the Pacific division posting the smallest gain of 4.3%, and the Mountain division leading the way with a 7.8% increase.
These are the states located in each division mentioned:
East North Central: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut
Mountain: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
Pacific: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California
The chart below compares 12-month price changes to the prior year:
(Click to enlarge)