FHFA: GSE Owned Home Prices Up Marginally After Revision

House prices rose during October according to the FederalrnHousing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index (HPI.)  While the increase was only 0.6 percent on arnseasonally adjusted basis, it followed two months in which prices declined andrnwas only the 7^th upward blip in the last 31 months.

At the same time, the 0.0 percent estimated change inrnSeptember was revised downward to a 0.4 percent decline. Since October 2008rnprices have fallen 1.9 percent and they are off 10.8 percent since the peak ofrnthe housing market in April 2007.

The HPI is compiled from data collected by Fannie Mae andrnFreddie Mac data on the houses purchased with mortgages bought or guaranteed byrnthose government sponsored enterprises. rnThe index is unique in that it only includes houses where a previousrnsale was also financed by a GSI mortgage so price changes are for same housernsales.

There was a wide variation in changes among the nine Census regions.  Prices rose in the five of the regions andrnwere unchanged only in New England.  ThernPacific region had an average price increase of 3.7 percent while the MiddlernAtlantic States had the worst performance with house prices falling another 1.8rnpercent.  Every region except the WestrnSouth Central has lower prices than one year ago – in that region there hasrnbeen zero change.  Prices in the Mountainrnregion are down 7.5 percent since last October followed by the South Atlanticrnstates with a 4.1 percent price decrease. rnBut everything is relative. rnDuring the one year period prior to this one, October 2007 to Octoberrn2008 prices in those in regions were down 8.0 and 9.9 percentrnrespectively.  The Pacific region, showedrnthe most improvement.   Its pricesrndeclined 0.3 percent in the past year compared to a -21.7 percent change in thern2007-2008 period.

The HPI for the U.S. was 199.4.  According to the report this wasrnapproximately the level of the HPI in February, 2008.

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