US house prices jump 17.5% in 4Q21

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US house prices soared 17.5% in the fourth quarter last year compared to the same quarter in 2020, according to figures by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) on Tuesday.

On a quarterly basis, house prices increased 3.3% in the October-December period, compared to the previous three months.

"House prices continued to climb but not as rapidly during the final quarter of 2021 as in earlier quarters," said William Doerner, Ph.D., Supervisory Economist in FHFA's Division of Research and Statistics.

"Housing trends over the past year have created challenges. The quick house price gains may be counterbalanced as mortgage rates increase. However, more expensive housing has elevated affordability to become a broader concern as available supply remains limited," he added.

The states with the highest annual price increase -- Arizona, Utah and Idaho -- all were above 27% year-on-year.

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