Home prices surged 12.2 percent in February 2021, compared to a year ago, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index released Tuesday. The number is also up 0.9 percent from the previous month.
“Annual house price growth achieved a new record high in February,” Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics, said in a statement. “The 12.2 percent gain represents an increase of $35,000 for a median-priced home that sold a year ago at $290,000 in the Enterprises’ data.”
Out of the nine geographical regions in the country, the Mountain region that includes states including Idaho and Nevada saw the highest growth at 15.4 percent while the Middle Atlantic Region, encompassing New York and Pennsylvania, saw only 0.3 percent growth.
FHFA
A nationwide lack of inventory and low mortgage rates continues to create a situation in which many people want to buy and prices continue to rise, potentially pushing out many first-time buyers unable to compete amid bidding wars and all-cash offers.
The FHFA states that the HPI is is calculated based on “a weighted, repeat-sales statistical technique to analyze house price transaction data” using “seasonally adjusted, purchase-only data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.”
