The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) released some great news this week. Slowly but surely, home prices are returning to their pre-crash peak levels. By looking at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage financing figures, the latest Home Price Index (HPI) showed an increase of 0.3 percent in August over the previous month’s figure. Even better, the HPI is up 5.5 percent compared to last year’s numbers for August.
By analyzing the current annual HPI data, the positive results show that every region in America has experienced positive home prices over the past year. Some of the leading areas include the Mountain division with 8.3 percent gain, the Pacific region with 7.4 percent and the South Atlantic area with 7.3 positive increase. Coming in last place, the Middle Atlantic division only saw a 2.2 percent rise in housing prices.
While the annual HPI revealed positive growth all across the country, there were a few areas that posted a month-to-month loss. The Middle Atlantic and the East North Central divisions each recorded a 0.4 percent downturn in their monthly housing price figures. On the other hand, the largest monthly growth records were in the East South Central, West North Central and South Atlantic divisions.
Overall, the gradual growth of the HPI across the U.S. speaks volumes for the real estate market. Like the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, slow and steady is sure to win the race!
