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 4.5% below its April 2007 peak and is roughly equivalent to its level in October 2005.
For the past 12 months, gains have been greatest in the Pacific states (7.5%) and the least in the New England states (1.6%). The year-over-year index rose in all nine Census Bureau divisions.
The November index value has reached an 18-month high of 216.9.
The consensus estimate for November called for an increase in a range of 0.2% to 0.6%.
Home prices posted month-over-month gains in eight Census Bureau divisions and a decline in just one, New England.
Price increases are slowing down, according to FHFA data. The 12-month price change in November 2013 equaled a gain of 7.5%, compared with a gain of 5.3% in the 12 months to November 2014. Only two of the nine Census Bureau divisions posted larger 12-month gains in November 2014 than in the prior November: the west south central (which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas and Louisiana) and the east south central (including Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama).
Top Gaining Stocks
Top Losing Stocks