FHFA House Price Index Rises Less Than Expected

Breaking a string of strong housing data, the FHFA house price index rose a much lower-than-expected 0.2 percent in April for the lowest reading since June last year. The result, however, does follow outsized strength in March which is now revised upward to plus 0.8 percent. The year-on-year rate has been skirting at 6 percent for the past year with the April results pulling it 3 tenths downward and below the line to 5.9 percent. Year-on-year growth is strongest in the Pacific region at 8.6 percent but remains weakest in the Mid-Atlantic at only 1.7 percent.

This report right now is an outlier as other home-price indications have been showing life including those in the existing home sales report. Strength in home prices, given weak growth in wages, is key to household confidence and spending.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
FHFA house price index has been rising at solid 0.5 percent to 0.7 percent clips since October and another 0.6 percent gain is expected for April. The year-on-year rate has been trending at or near 6.0 percent all year. Strength in home-price appreciation is of special importance in a low inflation, low wage-growth economy.