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Home Prices Continue Four-Month Run of Gains in FHFA Study

Home prices in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent between June and July, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the ""Federal Housing Finance Agency"":http://www.fhfa.gov (FHFA) said Thursday.

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The agency's House Price Index (HPI) has been trending upward since April of this year. That string of gains is coming off a streak of declines that was three times as long. Prior to April, FHFA's HPI had been on a slippery downward slope for 12 straight months, going back to May 2010.

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The federal agency's index is calculated using purchase prices of houses backing mortgages that have been sold to or guaranteed by ""Fannie Mae"":http://www.fanniemae.com and ""Freddie Mac"":http://www.freddiemac.com.

Looking at the 12 months ending in July, U.S. homes lost 3.3 percent of their value, according to FHFA's assessment.

The July index reading is 18.4 percent below its April 2007 peak and roughly the same as the March 2004 index level.

Among the nine census regions, the biggest monthly gain was seen in the West North Central division â€" which includes the Dakotas, Minnesota, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri. There, home prices rose 3.6 percent between June and July.

The South Atlantic division â€" Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida â€" saw the biggest decline for the month, down 0.4 percent.

The West North Central division was the only region to experience a price increase over the last 12 months, posting an annual gain of 0.2 percent.

About Author: Carrie Bay

Carrie Bay is a freelance writer for DS News and its sister publication MReport. She served as online editor for DSNews.com from 2008 through 2011. Prior to joining DS News and the Five Star organization, she managed public relations, marketing, and media relations initiatives for several B2B companies in the financial services, technology, and telecommunications industries. She also wrote for retail and nonprofit organizations upon graduating from Texas A&M University with degrees in journalism and English.
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