US House Prices Jump In Q3

House prices in the United States surged in the third quarter of 2020, increasing 3.1 percent from the second quarter and 7.8 percent ahead of 2019 levels, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The report found:

  • U.S. house prices have risen for 37 consecutive quarters.
  • Prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between the third quarters of 2019 and 2020. 
  • The top five areas in annual appreciation were Idaho (14.4 percent), Arizona (11.1 percent), Washington (10.8 percent), Utah (10.7 percent) and Tennessee (10 percent).
  • The areas showing the lowest annual appreciation were North Dakota (4 percent), Iowa (4.7 percent), Louisiana (4.8 percent), Alaska (4.9 percent) and Hawaii (5.2 percent).
  • House prices rose in all the top 100 largest metropolitan areas in the U.S. over the last four quarters.  

​“House prices recorded their strongest quarterly gain in the history of the FHFA HPI purchase-only series in the third quarter of 2020,” said Dr. Lynn Fisher, Deputy Director of the Division of Research and Statistics at FHFA. “Relative to a year ago, prices were up 7.8 percent during the quarter – the fastest year-over-year rate of appreciation since 2006. Monthly data indicate that prices continued to accelerate during the quarter, reaching 9.1 percent in September, as demand continues to outpace the supply of homes available for sale.”

Each of the metropolitan areas can be seen here.