Home Prices Rise Less Than Expected

The latest home price index report from the FHFA showed home prices rose 0.1% in July, less than the 0.5% that was expected by economists and below the 0.4% increase seen the prior month.

From the FHFA:

U.S. house prices rose in July, up 0.1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month, according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) monthly House Price Index (HPI). The previously reported 0.4 percent increase in June was revised to reflect a 0.3 percent increase.

For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from June 2014 to July 2014 ranged from -0.5 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +0.4 percent in the East North Central division. The 12-month changes were all positive ranging from +1.6 percent in the Middle Atlantic division to +7.2 percent in the Pacific division.

This chart from the FHFA shows the monthly house price index, which is back 2005 levels but is still below its pre-crisis peak.