Home prices increased 1.5 percent nationally from July to August, the largest month-to-month increase reported in the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index (HPI) since 1991. Prices were up 8 percent annually in August.
“U.S. house prices posted a strong increase in August,” Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s deputy director of the division of research and statistics, said in a statement.
“This large month-over-month gain contributes to an already strong increase in prices over the summer,” Fisher added. “These price gains can be attributed to the historically low interest rate environment, rebounding housing demand, and continued supply constraints.”
Prices increased both month over month and year over year in all nine census divisions tracked by HPI. The highest annual gains were reported in the Mountain division, which saw a 9.7 percent increase year over year. The West South Central division saw the lowest increase but was still up 7.2 percent year over year.
The HPI, according to the FHFA, is, “a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. This information is obtained by reviewing repeat mortgage transactions on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since January 1975.”
Tuesday’s S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index also reported August home price increases. Prices were up 5.7 percent year over year and 4.8 percent month over month, according to the release.
