FHFA: Prices Continue Upward Trend in November

Consistent with most industry indices, the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov/ (FHFA) reported continued gains in its most recent ""House Price Index."":http://www.fhfa.gov/webfiles/24914/MonthlyHPI12313Final.pdf The current index is 15.2 percent lower than the national peak reached in April 2007.

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On a seasonally adjusted basis, prices increased 0.6 percent from October to November. This rate matches the previous month's revised index, which was revised from a 0.5 percent increase to a 0.6 percent increase.

The FHFA has not reported a decline in monthly home prices since January 2012, leaving the build-up of price [COLUMN_BREAK]

changes over the past 12 months much more accelerated relative to the monthly rate.

National home prices have increased 5.6 percent over the 12-month period ending in November, according to FHFA's calculations.

As is always the case, the price index varied from region to region. The Mountain division (consisting of Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico) experienced a 2.1 percent increase over the month, the highest of any of the nine Census regions.

The East North Central division (made up by Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio) experienced the greatest price drop over the month, reporting a decline of 1 percent.

The nearby East South Central division (Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama) was the only other region to register a price decline for the month. The division experienced a 0.4 percent decline.

All regions posted price increases year-over-year in November, with the Mountain division recording the highest annual price improvement (14.8 percent).

The lowest year-over-year increase took place in the Middle Atlantic division (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), which recorded a 0.5 percent increase.