Author:
William M. Doerner, Senior Economist; Andrew Leventis, Principal Economist
Trends in residential house values can be expressed by changes in House Price Indexes (HPIs). HPIs are based on observed prices and help guide real estate activities. Since the recent housing crash, distressed sales have increased in numbers and have led to concerns about their effects on market valuations. This paper explores the extent to which distressed sales can be identified in transactions data and how they affect HPIs.
A revised version of this paper has undergone external peer-review and is published in an academic journal. Citation: William M. Doerner, Andrew V. Leventis. 2015. "Distressed Sales and the FHFA House Price Index." Journal of Housing Research, 24(2), 127-146. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10835547.2015.12092100
The results were discussed by a variety of sources like the Wall Street Journal blog, Appraisal Institute, HousingWire, Mortgage Bankers Association, Mortgage News Daily, and Mortgage Orb.