by Calculated Risk on 9/23/2020 09:30:00 AM

From the FHFA: FHFA House Price Index Up 1.0 Percent in July; Up 6.5 Percent from Last Year

House prices rose nationwide in July, up 1.0 percent from the previous month, according to the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA HPI). House prices rose 6.5 percent from July 2019 to July 2020. FHFA also revised its previously reported 0.9 percent price change for June 2020 to 1.0 percent.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly house price changes from June 2020 to July 2020 ranged from +0.6 percent in the West North Central division to +2.0 percent in the New England division. The 12-month changes ranged from +5.4 percent in the West South Central division to +7.7 percent in both the Mountain and the East South Central divisions.

“U.S. house prices posted a strong increase in July," said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA's Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “Between May and July 2020, national prices increased by over 2 percent, which represents the largest two-month price increase observed since the start of the index in 1991. The dramatic increase in prices this summer can be attributed to the historically low interest rate environment and rebounding housing demand even as the supply of homes for sale remains constrained."
emphasis added

This is a sharp increase in house prices.