U.S. house prices rose in February, up 0.3 percent from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) seasonally adjusted monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.6 percent increase for January 2019 remained unchanged.
The FHFA monthly HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. From February 2018 to February 2019, house prices were up 4.9 percent.
For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from January 2019 to February 2019 ranged from -1.2 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +1.4 percent in the East South Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +3.5 percent in the West South Central division to +6.5 percent in the Mountain division.
Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates for recent periods are provided in the tables and graphs on the following pages. Downloadable data and HPI release dates for the remainder of 2019 are available on the HPI page.
For detailed information on the FHFA HPI, see HPI Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). The next HPI report will be released May 28, 2019 and will include monthly data through March 2019 and quarterly data for the first quarter of 2019.