The winter season has not stopped home prices from posting both monthly and yearly gains, according to recent reports, and the ""Federal Finance Housing Agency's"":http://www.fhfa.gov/ (FHFA) October home price report was no different.
[IMAGE] [COLUMN_BREAK]According to the agency's Home Price Index (HPI), home prices in October rose 0.5 percent from September and 5.6 percent from October 2011. The index current sits 15.7 percent below the April 2007 peak.
Among the nine census divisions, seven saw monthly price gains, with the Pacific (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California) leading with a 2 percent gain.
In the Middle Atlantic (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) and New England ((Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), home prices fell 1.3 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively.
On a year-over-year basis, all divisions with the exception of New England experienced price gains. The Mountain (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) region experienced the biggest growth in prices and posted a 13.1 percent increase. The Pacific region followed with a 9.6 percent yearly price increase. In New England, prices decreased by 0.1 percent.
FHFA's index is based on the purchase prices of homes backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.