House Prices Continue to Climb

It’s the same song, different verse when it comes to home prices these days. They keep going up and up and up.

According to the latest data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency, nationwide house prices rose by 17.4% from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. House prices in the second quarter were also up 4.9% over the first quarter of this year.

The increase was seen pretty much across the board, according to Dr. Lynn Fisher, Deputy Director of FHFA’s Division of Research and Statistics.

“During the second quarter, house prices peaked in June with an 18.8% growth rate compared to a year ago,” Fisher said. “For the quarter, annual gains surpassed 20% in the Mountain, New England, and Pacific census divisions and in all of the top 20 metro areas.”

According to the FHFA report, house prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from the second quarter of 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. However, there were several states where process rose by a significantly higher margin than the national average.

The five states with the highest price appreciation were: Idaho, where prices rose by 37.1%; Utah, where prices rose by 28.3%; Arizona, where prices rose by 23.9%; Montana, where prices rose by 23.7%; and Rhode Island, where prices rose by 23.7%.

House prices also rose in all 100 of the nation’s largest metropolitan areas, led by Boise City, Idaho, where prices increased 41.1% in one year. The smallest yearly price increase was seen in San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City, California, where prices increased by 4.5%.

According to the FHFA report, house prices have increased in 40 consecutive quarters, dating back to September 2011.