U.S. Government Reports Monthly House Price Index Rose 0.3 Percent from June to July

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(News Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency)

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) -- U.S. home prices rose 0.3 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis from June to July, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly House Price Index.

The previously reported 0.5 percent increase in June was revised downward to a 0.1 percent increase. For the 12 months ending in July, U.S. prices fell 4.2 percent. The U.S. index is 10.5 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 June to July ranged from -0.9 percent in the East South Central Division to + 1.6 percent in the Pacific Division.

Monthly index values and appreciation rate estimates are provided in the table and graph on the following pages. As with FHFA's quarterly HPI, the estimates will be revised as new data become available. Quarterly HPI reports include updated monthly data presented in the same format as the attached table.

The next release of monthly index data will be on Oct. 22, 2009 and will include monthly data for August. The next release of quarterly index data will be on Nov. 24, 2009 and will include monthly data for September and quarterly data for the third quarter of 2009.

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