U.S. House Prices Rise 1.1 Percent in Fourth Quarter to 5.73% – FHFA

U.S. house prices rose 1.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2018 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).  House prices rose 5.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2018.  FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.3 percent from November.

“House prices rose throughout 2018 but at a slower rate than in recent years,” said Dr. William Doerner, Supervisory Economist. “In the fourth quarter, house price appreciation hit one of the lowest levels in the past four years.”

FHFA House Price Index video shows how interest rate increases impact house price appreciation. Dr. Doerner explains in this video highlight of the fourth quarter.

Significant Findings

• Home prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between the fourth quarters of 2017 and 2018. The top five areas in annual appreciation were: 1) Idaho 11.9 percent; 2) Nevada 11.2 percent;  3) Utah 9.8 percent; 4) Georgia 8.2 percent; and 5) Arizona 8.2 percent. The areas showing the smallest annual appreciation were: 1) North Dakota 0.0 percent; 2) Connecticut 0.9 percent;       3) West Virginia 1.6 percent; 4) Louisiana 1.8 percent; and  5) Oklahoma 2.0 percent.
•  Home prices rose in 98 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. over the last four quarters. Annual price increases were greatest in San Francisco-San Mateo Redwood City, CA (MSAD), where prices increased by 17.0 percent. Prices were weakest in Urban Honolulu, HI, where they fell by 2.0 percent.
• Of the nine census divisions, the Mountain division experienced the strongest four quarter appreciation, posting an 8.1 percent gain between the fourth quarters of 2017 and 2018 and a 1.6 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2018. Annual house price appreciation was weakest in the West South Central division, where prices rose by 4.3 percent between the fourth quarters of 2017 and 2018.

In terms home price appreciation, Silicon Valley is preforming at a strong rate. There are two metropolitan locations in California that took the highest home price appreciation, San Francisco – San Mateo – Redwood City (the Mid-Peninsula) and San Jose – Sunnyvale – Santa Clara (the South Bay).

FHFA 4Q report here.

If you’re making plans to move and relocate to another part of the country you will want to be knowledgeable about your housing price appreciation  of your future home. Feel free to call me to discuss relocation possibilities, I can assist you locally and nationally.