Home prices on federally backed mortgages unchanged in November: FHFA

U.S. house prices were unchanged on a seasonally adjusted basis from October to November, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency‘s monthly house price index. Home prices fell 4.3% between November 2009 and November 2010. The FHFA revised the previously reported 0.7% increase in October down to a gain of 0.2%. The agency’s monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The S&P/Case-Shiller index, which encompasses home prices outside federal-backed sales, showed November prices fell 1% from October and 1.6% from a year earlier. Eight cities reached new lows for home prices during the month. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally adjusted, monthly price changes from October to November ranged from -1.9% in the Mountain Division (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) to +1.3% in the West South Central Division (Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, and Louisiana), according to the FHFA. Write to Christine Ricciardi. Follow her on Twitter @HWnewbieCR.