In which regions of the United States have real estate prices increased the most over the last five years?

Home prices remain high, although mortgage rates are beginning to trend downward as many lenders focus onor a rate cut by the Federal Reserve in September.

The pandemic increased prices on the real estate market byshifted buyer preferences to new geographic areas and led to an increase in savings that drove some households into the market, increasing demand. The increased demand with relatively constant supply led to a rapid increase in prices and at the same time the Fed began to raise interest rates, which pushed some potential buyers even further out of the market.

The Federal Finance Housing Authority (FFHA) publishes a monthly report called the Home Price Index (HPI) on changes in housing prices, which includes a regional and national perspective.

The HPI tracks changes in average prices “as the same properties are sold or refinanced” to gain insight into fluctuations in certain, more populated housing markets.We obtain this information by reviewing transactions for single-family homes with mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.”, the agency explains. By looking at the same group of properties, the agency can create a historical data set going back to 1975. However, because it does not track all sales, the percentage increases recorded by the HPI are likely higher than if all sales were included. When comparing prices in June 2024 to those in June 2019, prices have increased by 57.59 percent, with prices increasing at different rates in different regions.