National Home Price Recovery Strong; Regions Mixed

U.S. house prices rose 0.7rnpercent from January to February according to data released this morning by thernFederal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). rnFHFA said this was the fifth consecutive time its seasonally adjustedrnHome Price Index (HPI) had risen more than a half-point from one month to thernnext.  Monthly prices have not declinedrnsince January 2012.</p

House prices have now increasedrn7.1 percent over the last 12 months to a level last seen in October 2004.  The HPI is now 12.5 percent below the peak itrnreached in April 2007.</p

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Regionally the recovery in home pricesrnis ragged.   On a monthly basis, pricesrnincreased in eight of the nine census divisions ranging from +0.3 percent inrnNew England to +1.7 percent in the South Atlantic division (Delaware, Maryland,rnDistrict of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia,rnFlorida).  Prices in the Middle Atlanticrndivision (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) declined 0.6 percent. </p

All divisions reported price increasesrnfor the previous 12 months but ranging from 1.9 percent in the Middle Atlanticrnto 14.0 percent in the Mountain division (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada,rnUtah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) and 15.3 percent in the Pacific regionrn(Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.)</p

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FHFA uses the purchase prices of houses with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Maernor Freddie Mac to calculate the monthly index.

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