Housing

FHFA Reports Higher Home Prices in February

House for Sale
Thinkstock
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported this morning that U.S. home prices rose 0.7% month-over-month in February, following the January housing price index gain of 0.6%. For the 12-month period ending in February 2012, U.S. housing prices rose 7.1%.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses with mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

Home prices are recovering fastest in the Pacific states, which saw a price hike of 15.3%, compared with February 2012. Over the past 12 months, home prices are up in every region of the country.

The good news on house prices — for sellers — is that they continue to rise in all regions of the country. The good news for buyers is that housing prices are still 13.6% below the 2007 peak and mortgage loan rates are very low. The purchase price index for February is roughly equal to the index level in October 2004.

Take This Retirement Quiz To Get Matched With An Advisor Now (Sponsored)

Are you ready for retirement? Planning for retirement can be overwhelming, that’s why it could be a good idea to speak to a fiduciary financial advisor about your goals today.

Start by taking this retirement quiz right here from SmartAsset that will match you with up to 3 financial advisors that serve your area and beyond in 5 minutes. Smart Asset is now matching over 50,000 people a month.

Click here now to get started.

Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.