The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s monthly House Price Index fell 0.3% in January from December to a reading of 186.5, a drop of 3.9% from January, 2010, FHFA said Tuesday.
The previously reported 0.3% decline in the December index also was revised downward to a decline of a full percentage point. The index, which measures only prices of homes financed by government-backed mortgages, has fallen 16.5% from its peak in April 2007 and now is equal to its level in May, 2004.
Price changes were mixed among the nine census regions. The Pacific was up 0.4% sequentially and down 5% on an annual basis. The Mountain was down 1.3% and 8.6%, respectively. The West North Central was down 0.2% and down 3.7%.The West South Central was up 1.6% and down 0.5%. The East North Central was down 0.8% and down 2.9%. The East South Central was up 0.4% and down 4.4%.New England was down 0.2% and 1.3%. The Middle Atlantic was down 0.6% and down 2.9%, and the South Atlantic was down 1.3% and down 5.6%.
Only the Mountain (207.7), New England (205) and the Middle Atlantic (202) retain index levels over 200; the East North Central, at 166.5, and the Pacific, at 174.7, have the lowest readings among the regions. An index of 100 equals the FHFA home price in January, 1991.
