Can This Be? Home Prices Are up?
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I wouldn’t take this as the last word, but the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) is reporting that home values nationwide rose in .7 percent from January to February.
“U.S. home prices rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index. January’s previously reported 1.7 percent increase was revised to a 1.0 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices fell 6.5 percent. The U.S. index is 9.5 percent below its April 2007 peak.
“The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from January to February ranged from –1.2 percent in the East North Central Division to +3.8 percent in the Pacific Division.”
This is a big survey, but also one which does not reflect much of the marketplace, the properties financed with loans which were not bought by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, these numbers may not be final — January’s previously reported 1.7 percent increase was revised to a 1.0 percent increase.
Regional Results
Pacific Census Division: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California — UP 3.8%.
Mountain Census Division: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico — UP 0.1%.
West North Central: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri West South Central: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana — UP 1.5%.
East North Central: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio — DOWN -1.2%.
East South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama — DOWN -0.2%.
New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut — UP 2.2%.
Middle Atlantic: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania — UP 0.7%.
South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida — DOWN -0.8%.
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Comment by Joanne McKee on 24 April 2009:
This could be for those months. However, you need to look at the present month. Especially in Oregon.
Comment by Rick Timpson on 7 July 2009:
I think you’ll look back at this as a blip on the radar. The first time home buyer credit set to expire in December and there are very few $0 down programs available. Couple that with rising unemployment and rising interest rates, I don’t see a true housing recovery in the near to intermediate future.