HOUSING MARKET

摘要

U.S. house prices rose 1.4% in the fourth quarter of 2014 according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI). This is the fourteenth consecutive quarterly price increase in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index, FH-FA's seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 0.8% from November. House prices rose 4.9% from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the fourth quarter of 2014. The HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages sold to, or guaranteed by, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. "Contrary to prior indications of a possible slowdown, home price appreciation in the fourth quarter was relatively strong," said FHFA Principal Economist Andrew Leventis. "The key drivers of appreciation over the last few years-low inventories of homes available for sale and improvement in labor markets-likely played a role in driving up prices during the quarter."