Home prices drifting upward at slower pace

Home price appreciation showed signs of slowing in November but continued the upward trend, according to data released Thursday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency

Home price appreciation showed signs of slowing in November but continued the upward trend, according to data released Thursday by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.

The FHFA’s monthly House Price Index increased slightly in November, rising 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis from the previous month. November marked the 22nd consecutive monthly price increase in the purchase-only, seasonally adjusted index, according to the FHFA. The HPI is calculated using home sales information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Home prices increased 7.6% between November of 2012 and November of 2013, according to the FHFA. The HPI currently sits about 8.9% below its peak of April 2007, and is about the same as the April 2005 level.

Seasonally adjusted price changes in the index’s nine census division ranged from a drop of 1.4% between October and November in the East South Central Division to an increase of 0.5% in the Mountain, West North Central and East North Central divisions. Year-over-year changes ranged from an increase of 3.2% in the Middle Atlantic Division to an increase of 15.4% in the Pacific Division, according to the FHFA.