FHFA Confirms House Price Increases Decelerating

Washington, DC, Aug. 26, 2014 -- The Federal Housing Finance Agency said that U.S. house prices rose 0.8% in the second quarter, according to its purchase-only, seasonally adjusted House Price Index.

The index is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Compared with last year, house prices rose 5.2% from the second quarter of 2013 to the second quarter of 2014.  FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was up 0.4% from May, marking seven consecutive monthly increases.

“The extraordinary price appreciation observed over the last few spring seasons was not evident in the second quarter of this year.  However, house price appreciation for the nation as a whole remained positive,” said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis.

“FHFA’s data indicate that house price appreciation in the quarter was near or below the baseline rate of inflation in most states.”