FHFA: May Increase Marks 16 Months of Home Price Gains

The ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov/ (FHFA) reported 0.7 monthly percent price growth (seasonally adjusted) in May, according to its latest report.

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May's Home Price Index (HPI) was the 16th consecutive index to see monthly gains, according to the agency. Meanwhile, April's previously reported 0.7 percent increase was revised downward to a 0.5 percent improvement.

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On a yearly basis, the national HPI was up 7.3 percent. As of May, the index was 11.2 percent below its April 2007 peak and was roughly level with January 2005's value.

For the nine census divisions, monthly price changes in May ranged from a low of -1.5 percent in the East South Central division to +1.8 percent in the South Atlantic division. The Mountain division was the only other region to report depreciation (-0.1 percent), while the West North Central division was the only region where prices were flat.

On a year-over-year basis, the Pacific division took the top spot with a 15.8 percent price increase; the East South Central was once again on the bottom with a price gain of 1.8 percent.

FHFA's index is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages either sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.