January, 2014 experienced an increase in house prices, which rose by .5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month.
According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI), for the year beginning January, 2013 to January 2014, the HPI increased by 7.4 percent. Prices have increased for 23 of the last 24 months, beginning in February, 2012.
The index is slightly less than the S&P/Case-Shiller, which reported home prices increased [1] by .8 percent month-to-month.
The only month to buck the trend of rising prices was November, 2013, where prices decreased by .1 percent. Previously reported as .8 percent, December's HPI was revised to reflect a .7 percent increase.
The FHFA's HPI is calculated by using home sales price information from mortgages either sold or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
January's HPI is 8 percent below the April 2007 peak; roughly the same as the May 2005 index level, according to the HPI.
"For the nine census divisions, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December 2013 to January 2014 ranged from -0.3 percent in the West South Central division to +1.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic division," according to the FHFA's report.
On a yearly basis, each region of the United States showed positive gains in house prices. The Pacific Region, comprised of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California, posted a whopping 14 percent increase year-over-year.
Other notable regions include the Mountain (up 11 percent), the South Atlantic (up 8.4 percent), and the East North Central (up 6.0 percent).