FHFA House Price Index Jumps

Yesterday's gains for Case-Shiller are now underpinned by a very strong FHFA house price report where the September index jumped 0.8 percent with gains across all nine regions. This is the strongest monthly gain since March 2013. Year-on-year, FHFA is up 6.1 percent for the best showing since March last year (this reading hit a recovery high in the low 8 percent area in mid-2013).

Home-price appreciation is a central factor for household confidence and spending strength. Price gains will also draw in more supply to the housing sector which in turn should give a boost to still uneven sales levels.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Home-price appreciation, as measured by the FHFA house price index, is expected to bounce back in September, to a consensus plus 0.4 percent vs plus 0.3 percent in August. Despite lack of available homes on the market, home prices have been soft and have not been contributing much to consumer momentum.