Home Prices Climb Again In October

The official numbers are in, and home prices in the United States continue to climb.

Home prices increased 1.5 percent in October – and were 10.2 percent higher than October 2019 levels, according to a report released Wednesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. The 1.5 percent increased followed a 1.7 percent increase in September.

“U.S. house prices rose for the fifth straight month since states re-opened their local economies,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, FHFA’s Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics. “The 12-month gain of 10.2 percent in October is the highest annual appreciation observed since the 2004-2005 period. Extremely low mortgage rates and a limited supply of homes for sale continue to propel price gains. The data do not yet reflect renewals of some local and state COVID-19 restrictions.”

As for the nine census divisions, increases ranged from 0.9 percent in the West North Central and East South Central divisions to 2.1 percent in New England. For the year, prices climbed 12.5 percent in the Mountain region and New England.