Washington, D.C. – U.S. home prices fell 0.6 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from July to August, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index, which was slightly less than the 0.8 percent fall in July. For the 12 months ending in August, U.S. prices fell 5.9 percent. The decline since the April 2007 peak is 6.5 percent.
The FHFA monthly index (formerly called the OFHEO monthly house price index), is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The index, introduced in the OFHEO fourth quarter 2007 House Price Index (HPI) report, provides a timely indicator of house price conditions for the nation and each of the nine Census Divisions. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from July to August ranged from -1.8 percent in the Pacific Division to +0.4 percent in the New England Division.
Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates are provided in the table and graph on the following pages. All estimates are seasonally adjusted and, as with the FHFA’s quarterly HPI, will be revised in later releases. As indicated in OFHEO’s fourth quarter 2007 HPI report, quarterly HPI releases will include updated monthly data presented in the same format as the attached table.
For detailed information concerning the monthly HPI, please see the HPI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). The next release of monthly index data will be November 25, 2008, when FHFA will publish quarterly index data for the third quarter and monthly index results for September. For a printed copy of this report, please submit a request at www.fhfa.gov/contact/data-and-research. The monthly and quarterly house price index will now be referred to as the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index.
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Contacts
Corinne Russell (202) 649-3032 / Stefanie Johnson (202) 649-3030