US house prices rise 18.7% annually in Q1

ANKARA

US house prices rose 18.7% annually in the first quarter of this year compared to the same period in 2021, according to Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) figures released on Tuesday.

On a quarterly basis, house prices climbed 4.6% this January-March compared to the previous three months.

"High appreciation rates continued across housing markets during the first quarter of 2022," said William Doerner, a supervisory economist at the agency.

"Strong demand coupled with tight supply have kept prices climbing. Through the end of March, higher mortgage rates have not yet translated into slower ​​price gains, but new home sales have dropped during the last few months, with a significant falloff in April," he added.

The states with the highest annual price increase – Florida, Arizona and Utah – were all above 26% year-on-year.

The agency's house price index uses seasonally adjusted and purchase-only housing data from government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.