The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) showed that home prices rose 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016.
“Although interest rates rose sharply during the fourth quarter, our data show no signs of a home price slowdown,” FHFA Deputy Chief Economist Andrew Leventis said.
“Although it will certainly take more time for the full effects of the elevated interest rates to be felt, there is no evidence of a normalization in the unusually low inventories of homes available for sale, which has been the primary force behind the extraordinary price gains,” he added.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2015, home prices were up 6.2 percent, says the HPI. The index is calculated using mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The metropolitan area that saw the largest spike in home prices year-over-year was Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Florida, where prices increased 13.2 percent. Prices were weakest in Wilmington, DE-MD-NJ (MSAD), where they fell 1.8 percent.
Overall, 46 states and the District of Columbia saw year-over-year price increases in the fourth quarter of 2016. The five states where prices rose the most were Oregon (11.0 percent), Colorado (10.6 percent), Florida (10.4 percent), Washington (10.2 percent), and Nevada (8.9 percent).