Home Prices Continue to Gain, But at Miniscule Rate

U.S. home prices continued to grow for the eighth straight month in July, though gains slowed to a crawl.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) monthly House Price Index picked up 0.1 percent from June to July, coming down after a revised 0.3 percent increase in June. Calculated using price data on mortgages sold to or guaranteed by the GSEs, the index provides a look at how homes are performing exclusive of high-end, non-agency loans.

For the 12 months ending in July, FHFA reported house prices were up 4.4 percent. As of the latest index, the national HPI is now 6.4 percent below its peak in April 2007 and is roughly in line with its July 2005 level.

Data was calculated for each of the nation's nine census divisions, each comprised of anywhere from three to eight states. Month-to-month price increases were led by the East North Central census division, including Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, and the New England census division, which includes Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The East North Central division and New England division each saw growth of 0.4 percent from June to July. At the bottom end was the Middle Atlantic census division, consisting of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, where prices depreciated 0.5 percent month-over-month in July.