U.S. house prices climbed 3 percent in the second quarter, compared to the second quarter a year ago, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index.
Compared to the first quarter of 2023, house prices were up 1.7 percent in the second quarter.
“U.S. house prices appreciated at a slightly higher rate in the second quarter amid low inventory,” said Anju Vajja, principal associate director in FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics. “While prices in a number of western states continued to decline year-over-year, house prices rose in all states quarter-over-quarter.”
Among the key findings in the second quarter, house prices rose in 42 states between the second quarters of 2022 and 2023. The five states with the highest annual appreciation were Maine and Connecticut, both up 7.6 percent; New Hampshire, up 7.1 percent; and Arkansas and New Jersey, both up 6.9 percent.
The areas showing the highest annual depreciation were Nevada, down 5.3 percent; the District of Columbia, down 4.9 percent; Utah, down 4.5 percent; Idaho, down 4.1 percent; and Washington, down 3.4 percent.
Overall, house prices rose in 74 of the top 100 largest metropolitan areas over the last four quarters. The annual price increase was greatest in Camden, N.J., where they jumped 10.6 percent. The metropolitan area that experienced the greatest price decline was San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, Calif., which dropped 12.2 percent.
The East North Central division recorded the strongest four-quarter appreciation, posting a 5.4 percent increase between the second quarters of 2022 and 2023. On the flip side, house prices decreased by 2.0 percent in the Pacific division and by 2.1 percent in the Mountain division.
The FHFA House Price Index (HPI) releases data and reports quarterly and monthly. The next monthly HPI report, including data through July 2023, will be released on Sept. 26, and the next quarterly report, including data for the third quarter of 2023 and monthly data for September 2023, will come out on Nov. 28.