House prices rose 2.1% for Q2 2013, according to a Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) report (link opens as PDF) released today.
These newest numbers mark the eighth straight seasonally adjusted quarterly price increase for the U.S. housing market. Compared to Q2 2012, home prices were up 7.2%. "The housing market experienced one of its strongest quarters since the boom in the middle of the last decade," noted FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis in a statement today.
Source: fhfa.gov.
In the first quarter of 2012, prices increased 1.9% over Q4 2012. On a month-to-month basis, June's numbers came in 0.7% above May's, beating analysts' estimates of a 0.6% bump.
While the FHFA report does not give prices of homes, yesterday, an existing-home sales report from the National Association of Realtors put the median sales price at $213,000 for July, the 17th straight month of year-over-year price increases. Compared to July 2012, existing homes are 13.7% more expensive, according to the NAR.
The FHFA House Price Index is calculated using single-family home sales price information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
