Home Prices Continue Four-Month Run of Gains in FHFA Study

Home prices in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent between June and July, marking the fourth consecutive monthly increase, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Thursday.

The agency’s House Price Index (HPI) has been trending upward since April of this year. That string of gains is coming off a streak of declines that was three times as long. Prior to April, FHFA’s HPI had been on a slippery downward slope for 12 straight months, going back to May 2010.

Foreclosures Sell for Up to 40% Less

Foreclosures Continue to Weigh on Home Prices

Daily Real Estate News | Thursday, August 25, 2011

Foreclosures made up about one-third of all home sales during the spring quarter (April to June), and sales were about six times the percentage of foreclosures in a healthy housing market, RealtyTrac Inc. reports.

Foreclosure sales likely would have been much higher too if so many banks hadn’t slowed their foreclosure processes while state and federal officials continued to investigate possible faulty practices. Foreclosure sales — which include homes purchased after they receive a notice of default or that were repossessed by lenders — peaked two years ago at 37.4 percent of sales, compared to 31 percent in the April to June quarter.