Fannie Mae Home Price Index Moves Higher Quarter-Over-Quarter and Year-Over-Year in Q1

On Wednesday, Fannie Mae released its latest Home Price Index (FNM-HPI) showing single-family home prices increased 7.4% year-over-year in Q1, up from the previous quarter’s revised annual growth rate of 6.6%.

The FNM-HPI is a national, repeat-transaction home price index measuring the average, quarterly price change for all single-family properties in the US, excluding condos.

On a quarterly basis, Fannie Mae is reporting that home prices rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in Q1, essentially the same as 2023Q4. On an unadjusted basis, home prices also increased 1.7%.

Commenting on the results of the HPI, Fannie Mae Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Doug Duncan said:

“Home prices continued to rise in the first quarter as the housing market remained seriously supply constrained. The stabilization of mortgage rates in the 6.6–6.7% range in January helped to boost demand early in the first quarter, with existing home sales and mortgage applications both rising. Mortgage rates have trended upward again of late, but there is support for home prices in strong demographic demand from younger generations. We expect home sales to rise modestly this year as potential homebuyers appear to be acclimating to the higher-rate environment and, in some cases, may be less able to put off moving for life reasons.”