Home Price Index Remains Relatively Flat, Declines Slightly in January

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U.S. house prices fell 0.6 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from December to January, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index.

The previously reported 1.6 percent decline in December was revised downward to a 2.0 percent decline. For the 12 months ending in January, U.S. prices fell 3.3 percent. The U.S. index is 13.2 percent below its April 2007 peak.

The FHFA monthly index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. For the nine Census Divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December to January ranged from -1.8 percent in the East North Central Division to + 2.0 percent in the Mountain Division.

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