Home prices rose 11 percent year-over-year in November, marking six consecutive months of home price growth according to the Federal Housing Finance Authority’s latest home price index released on Tuesday. November’s HPI beat the previous 15-year high set in October at 10.2 percent.
Although the pandemic shuttering the normally robust spring homebuying season, FHFF Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics Dr. Lynn Fisher said low-interest rates caused a buying frenzy, which caused home prices to continue their ascent amid low inventory levels.
“House prices have risen by at least one percent for six consecutive months,” Dr. Fisher said in a written statement. “The acceleration has been slowing but annual gains now outpace the prior housing boom. Current conditions can be explained by fundamentals, including low rates and tight housing supply, which have been intensified by the pandemic.”
On a monthly basis, home prices increased 1.0 percent from October 2020, with the Pacific region experiencing the largest increase from October to November. On an annual basis, the Mountain region led the pack with a 14 percent increase, followed by the New England (12.8 percent), Pacific (11.8 percent), and East South Central (11.8 percent) regions.
The HPI, according to the FHFA, is, “a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. This information is obtained by reviewing repeat mortgage transactions on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac since January 1975.”
