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Notice of Establishment of Housing Price Index

Notice Details
Type
Notice
Number
2015-N-10
Group
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
Federal Register Publish Date
10/22/2015
Federal Register Citation
80 FR 63996
PDF Format
Effective Date
10/22/2015

Notice of Establishment of Housing Price Index

Contact Information

​FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: ​Questions about the expanded-data HPI and the implementation of the conforming loan limit rules can be addressed to Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist, 202-649-3199, Andrew.Leventis@fhfa.gov, or Jamie Schwing, Associate General Counsel, 202-649-3085, Jamie.Schwing@fhfa.gov, (not toll-free numbers), Federal Housing Finance Agency, 400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024.

Summary

SUMMARY: ​On May 27, 2015, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published a Notice and Request for Input (Notice) describing a method for assessing the national average single-family house price for use in adjusting the maximum conforming loan limits of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the "Enterprises"). The Notice responded to section 1322 of the Federal Housing Enterprises Financial Safety and Soundness Act of 1992 (12 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.) ("Safety and Soundness Act") which required FHFA to "establish and maintain a method of assessing the national average 1-family house price for use in adjusting the conforming loan limitations." The Notice indicated that FHFA intends to use its existing "expanded-data" house price index (HPI) for such purpose and invited public feedback.

In line with the proposal in the original Notice, after reviewing the public feedback, FHFA has decided to use the expanded-data HPI for annual loan-limit adjustment. Specifically, FHFA will use the seasonally adjusted, expanded-data HPI for the United States.