The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported Thursday morning that U.S. home prices rose 0.5% sequentially in the month of August. Compared with August 2013, the house price index has gained 4.8%. The July index increase was increased from a previously reported 0.1% to 0.2%.

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. The index is 5.8% below its April 2007 peak and is roughly equivalent to its level in April 2005. The month-over-month increase is the ninth in a row.

For the past 12 months, gains have been greatest in the Pacific states, up 7.8%, and the least in the Middle Atlantic states, which are up 1.9%.

The month-over-month August gain is the second-largest of the year, trailing only the month-over-month gains in February and March of 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively.

The consensus estimate for August called for an increase of 0.3%. The FHFA data lag other data providers, but the trend we have been seeing in slower house price growth is evident here too, even including the spike for August.

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