According to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s House Price Index, April had a 0.1% seasonally adjusted monthly decline in U.S. house prices, reversing a March gain.
Year over year, the index showed a 2.0% increase as of April, the FHFA noted. The agency also corrected the March monthly figure, bumping it from an initially reported 0.1% to 0.2%.
FHFA reported that regional performance was mixed.
It said that among the census divisions, New England recorded the strongest monthly performance at a 1.0% gain, while the Mountain division showed the biggest pullback at -0.8%. Measured over the prior year, the East North Central division outpaced all others with a 4.4% rise, while the Pacific division came in at the low end with just a 0.2% gain.
According to analysts at Reuters, the softening was due to demand pressures stemming from the conflict with Iran, which sent oil prices climbing and fed through to higher inflation and borrowing costs. Freddie Mac data showed the 30-year fixed mortgage rate sitting at 6.49% last week, a level roughly 50 basis points above where it stood before hostilities broke out at the end of February.
Shortage Supports Prices
Despite the monthly dip, the nationwide housing shortage continues to support prices. The National Association of Home Builders puts the current housing deficit at roughly 1.2 million units.
The FHFA reported in March a 0.1% monthly price increase, with year-over-year appreciation of 1.7%. At that point, home prices had posted positive annual gains every quarter since the start of 2012, Quartz reported.
Among states, prices rose in 42 of 50 over the prior year, with Illinois leading at 7.3% annual appreciation. At the metro level, prices rose in 65 of the 100 largest metropolitan areas over the previous four quarters.
The FHFA’s flagship House Price Index uses purchase-only data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, drawing on tens of millions of home sales going back to the mid-1970s.
FHFA said it plans to release its next monthly report, covering data through May 2026, on July 28.
