U.S. home prices rose 0.7% on a seasonally-adjusted basis in February after a revised 1% increase in January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s [FHFA] monthly House Price Index released Wednesday. It is the first consecutive monthly gain in two years. But, despite that being a faint indication that low interest rates may be moderating declines in home values, other gauges of home prices show no improvement. For instance, the Case-Shiller index fell 2.8% in January, the fastest decline on record.
For the 12 months ending in February, U.S. prices fell 6.5% on a Y/Y basis, the second-smallest drop in six months, led by a 19% decrease in the region that includes California, the FHFA in Washington said today.
The U.S. index is 9.5% below its April 2007 peak. Prices in February were equal to levels seen in April 2005.
Graph: ofheo.gov
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