Home Prices Soft Going Into Summer

FHFA and Case-Shiller are both telling the same story: Home prices were soft going into the summer. FHFA's home price index rose only 0.2 percent in June, below the low-end forecast for 0.3 percent. Year-on-year, price growth slipped 1 tenth to 5.6 percent. This report has been showing slightly more strength than Case-Shiller where year-on-year price appreciation is at 5.0 percent.

Sales rates are tracking at roughly double the pace of price growth, a mismatch that points ahead to price acceleration given how thin inventories are right now in the housing sector. The regional breakdown for FHFA looks healthier than the headline with seven of nine regions showing monthly gains led by a 2.5 percent monthly surge in New England.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
The FHFA house price index is expected to post a third straight solid gain of 0.4 percent in June. This report has been showing some strength in contrast to Case-Shiller data which have been soft.