U.S. home prices rise 0.7% from January to February

U.S. home prices rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly
House Price Index. January’s previously reported 1.7 percent increase was revised to a 1.0 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices fell 6.5 percent. The U.S. index is 9.5 percent below its April 2007 peak.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally-adjusted monthly price changes from January to February ranged from –1.2 percent in the East North Central Division to +3.8 percent in the Pacific Division.

Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates are provided here. As with FHFA’s quarterly HPI, the estimates will be revised as new data become available. Quarterly HPI reports 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 (FAQ). The next release of index data will be on May 27, 2009 and will include data for the first quarter of 2009 as well as the month of March.

States in Each Census Division

Pacific Census Division: Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California
Mountain Census Division: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico
West North Central: North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri
West South Central: Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana
East North Central Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio
East South Central: Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama
New England: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
Connecticut
Middle Atlantic: New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania 
South Atlantic: Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $6.3 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions.