What the US home price growth measures
This chart shows the 12-month change in the FHFA House Price Index (all-transactions, US total), published quarterly by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The index is a repeat-sales measure: it tracks price changes of the same single-family houses each time they are sold or refinanced with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so it is not distorted by changes in the mix of homes sold.
How to read this chart
Above zero, homes are appreciating; below zero, prices are falling. For most of its history the index has risen 3–6% a year. Negative readings are rare and concentrated in the housing bust that began in 2007; the extraordinary jump in 2021–2022 shows the pandemic housing boom. Because data are quarterly and the latest quarter arrives about two months after it ends, the line updates four times a year.
The latest reading in context
- At 3.0%, the latest reading is below its 5-year average of 8.3% and below its 10-year average of 7.0%.
- Of all 202 quarterly readings since Q1 1976, 24% were lower than today’s and 76% were higher.
- Direction: down 0.4 points over the past quarter; down 0.4 points over the past six months; down 0.8 points over the past year.
- The highest value on record is 20.4% (Q2 2022, 4 years ago); the lowest is −7.2% (Q4 2008, 18 years ago).
- The full history spans 6 US recessions, shaded grey on the chart.
Why it matters
A home is the largest asset for most American families, so house prices drive household wealth and confidence. Rising prices help owners but push homeownership out of reach for first-time buyers, especially when mortgage rates are also high. Home prices also feed, with a lag, into rents and the shelter component of inflation.
What moves the US home price growth
- Mortgage rates
- Housing supply and the pace of new construction
- Household income and population growth
- Credit standards for mortgages
Key moments in its history
- Late 1970sDouble-digit gains in a high-inflation decade.
- 2005A peak in the housing bubble.
- 2007–2011Prices fell year over year for several years, the only long decline in the index.
- 2021–2022The fastest appreciation in the index’s history.
US Home Price Growth data tables
Average by decade
| Decade | Average | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s (so far) | 7.9% | 20.4% | 3.0% |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 6.1% | −7.0% |
| 2000s | 4.5% | 11.9% | −7.2% |
| 1990s | 3.3% | 5.2% | 1.2% |
| 1980s | 5.4% | 9.5% | −1.8% |
| 1970s | 11.7% | 15.0% | 4.8% |
Last 12 quarters
| Period | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Q2 2026 | 3.0% | −0.4 pts |
| Q1 2026 | 3.5% | 0.0 pts |
| Q4 2025 | 3.5% | +0.1 pts |
| Q3 2025 | 3.4% | −0.4 pts |
| Q2 2025 | 3.8% | −0.9 pts |
| Q1 2025 | 4.7% | −0.7 pts |
| Q4 2024 | 5.4% | +0.5 pts |
| Q3 2024 | 4.9% | −0.7 pts |
| Q2 2024 | 5.5% | −0.6 pts |
| Q1 2024 | 6.1% | +0.9 pts |
| Q4 2023 | 5.2% | +1.2 pts |
| Q3 2023 | 4.1% | +0.1 pts |
Quarterly values. Decade figures are averages of the quarterly values in each decade. The complete history is available as a CSV file.
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US Home Price Growth: questions and answers
What is the FHFA House Price Index?
A repeat-sales index from the Federal Housing Finance Agency that measures how prices of the same single-family homes change over time, based on mortgages purchased or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
How is it different from the Case-Shiller index?
Both are repeat-sales indexes. The FHFA index covers a broader set of areas but only conforming mortgages; S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller includes homes bought with jumbo and cash loans and weights by value.
Why is this chart quarterly?
The all-transactions version of the FHFA index, which includes refinance appraisals and goes back to 1975, is published quarterly.
Where does the data on this chart come from?
From the Federal Housing Finance Agency. ChartWidgets downloads the series (USSTHPI) from FRED, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis database, and checks for new releases every day. The last update was on November 1, 2026.