The nation’s home prices rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis from January to February, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly house price index.
For the 12 months ended February, home prices rose 0.4%, the first 12-month increase since the July 2006 to July 2007 interval. The index remains 19.4% below its April 2007 peak and is roughly the same as its January 2004 level.
While prices in January were unchanged, according to initial estimates reported in the last HPI release, the January result was revised downward to reflect a 0.5% decrease.
Click on the graph below for the seasonally adjusted and unadjusted monthly appreciation rates over the past 18 months.
The FHFA calculates its monthly index using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
