U.S. home prices fell 1.8 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from October to November — a sharper decline than the 1.1 percent drop seen the month before — according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index.
For the 12 months ending in November, the index of U.S. prices fell 8.7 percent, to 200.7, FHFA said. The index uses January 1991 as a baseline value of 100. The decline since the April 2007 peak is 10.5 percent, putting the index back roughly to where it was in March 2005.
The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Because it excludes mortgages too large or too risky for Fannie and Freddie, it can understate price increases and declines.
Prices were down in all nine U.S. Census divisions, with the index for the West North Central Census Division seeing the greatest decline — 2.7 percent, to 205. The division includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
The New England Census Division (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut) saw the smallest drop — 0.7 percent — bringing the index to 214.
Prices fell 2.4 percent in the Mountain Division (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico), leaving the index at 253.3.
A decline of 2.3 percent was seen in the South Atlantic Division (Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida), putting the index at 203.9.
Prices fell 2.2 percent in the Pacific Division (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California), to an index of 191.7.
A decrease of 1.5 percent was recorded in the East North Central Division (Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio), bringing the index to 178.8.
Prices were off by 1.4 percent in the East South Central Division (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama), to 194.5.
In the West South Central Division (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana), the index fell 1.3 percent, to 195.8.
In the Middle Atlantic Division (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania), the index showed an 0.8 percent decline, to 215.1.
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