U.S. House Prices Increase 17.5% Year-Over-Year

According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index® (HPI®), released today (2-22-22), U.S. house prices rose 17.5% from the fourth quarter of 2020 to the fourth quarter of 2021. House prices were up 3.3% compared to the Q3 of 2021. FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 1.2% from November.

Of the nine census divisions, the Mountain division recorded the strongest four-quarter appreciation, posting a 23.1% gain between Q4 of 2020 and Q4 of 2021 and a 3.5 % increase in the fourth quarter of 2021. Annual house price appreciation was weakest in the West North Central division, where prices rose by 13.6% between the Q4 of 2020 and Q4 of 2021.

In a statement prepared for the release of the November HPI, Will Doerner, Ph.D., Supervisory Economist in FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics said, “House prices continued to climb but not as rapidly during the final quarter of 2021 as in earlier quarters. Housing trends over the past year have created challenges. The quick house price gains may be counterbalanced as mortgage rates increase. However, more expensive housing has elevated affordability to become a broader concern as available supply remains limited.”