Housing

FHFA Home Price Index Rises 0.5% in January

Thinkstock

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Tuesday morning that U.S. home prices rose 0.5% month over month in January. Compared with January 2015, the house price index has gained 6%. The 0.4% index increase previously reported for December was revised upward to 0.5%.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses with mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The consensus estimate for January called for an increase of 0.6%.

Over the past 12 months, gains have been greatest in the South Atlantic states, up 8.9%, and the least in the Middle Atlantic states, which are up 1.7%. The year-over-year index rose in all nine Census Bureau divisions in January.

Home prices posted month-over-month gains in eight of nine Census Bureau divisions. Only the Middle Atlantic (down 1%) showed a decline. The South Atlantic region posted the largest month-over-month price gain, up 1.7%. The West North Central region posted a gain of 1.2%; the Mountain and New England regions rose 0.8%; the East North Central region rose 0.4%; the West South Central region gained 0.3%; the East South Central region gained 0.1%; and the Pacific region was unchanged.

Take Charge of Your Retirement In Just A Few Minutes (Sponsor)

Retirement planning doesn’t have to feel overwhelming. The key is finding expert guidance—and SmartAsset’s made it easier than ever for you to connect with a vetted financial advisor.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Answer a Few Simple Questions. Tell us a bit about your goals and preferences—it only takes a few minutes!
  2. Get Matched with Vetted Advisors Our smart tool matches you with up to three pre-screened, vetted advisors who serve your area and are held to a fiduciary standard to act in your best interests. Click here to begin
  3. Choose Your  Fit Review their profiles, schedule an introductory call (or meet in person), and select the advisor who feel is right for you.

Why wait? Start building the retirement you’ve always dreamed of. Click here to get started today!

 

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.

AI Portfolio

Discover Our Top AI Stocks

Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.

You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.