U.S. home prices rose about 2% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter, and were up 8.4% compared to the third quarter of 2012, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI).
It was the ninth-consecutive quarterly price increase and the first time since 2009 that the national house price level was higher than it was five years earlier.
‘Overall, the housing market experienced another strong quarter, but price appreciation in the latter part of the quarter was relatively subdued,’ says Andrew Leventis, principal economist for the FHFA, in a statement. ‘Price increases in August and September of 0.4% and 0.3%, respectively, were notably below appreciation rates observed earlier this year and in late 2012.’
The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
FHFA's expanded-data HPI, which adds transaction information from county recorder offices and the Federal Housing Administration, rose 2.2% in the third quarter compared to the second quarter. Over the last four quarters, that index is up 8.8%.
FHFA notes that although home prices increased 8.4% on a year-over-year basis, the cost of other goods and services rose only 1.2%, on average, during that same time period. The inflation-adjusted price of homes rose about 7.2% compared to the third quarter of 2012.
Home prices climbed in 48 states and in the District of Columbia during the third quarter. States that had the biggest appreciation in home prices, on average, included Nevada, California, Arizona, Florida and Washington.
Of the nine census divisions tracked in the report, the Pacific division experienced the strongest increase in the third quarter, posting a quarter-over-quarter increase of 4.2% and a year-over-year increase of 19.2%.
House prices were weakest in the East South Central division, where prices increased only 0.8% compared to the second quarter.
The metropolitan statistical area (MSA) that saw the largest price gains in the third quarter was the Stockton-Lodi, Calif., MSA, where prices increased by 8.3%.
The Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C., MSA had the weakest gains, with prices falling 2.2% for the third quarter compared to the second quarter.
Meanwhile, The S&P/Case-Shiller HPI shows home prices rising an average of 3.2% for the third quarter, compared to the second quarter, and 11.2% on a year-over-year basis.
To view the FHFA's full report, click here.