Home prices for April as reflected in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's (FHFA) Home Price Index (HPI) rose 0.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from March. FHFA also revised the previously released March figure from an increase of 1.3 percent to 1.5 percent. April was the 15^th consecutive month when prices increased on a monthly basis in FHFA's purchase only index.

Prices increased from April 2012 to April 2013 by 7.4 percent. U.S. home prices are now 11.7 percent below the peak reached in April 2007 and roughly the same as in January 2005.

Home prices rose on a monthly basis in seven of the nine census divisions with the greatest increase (+2.2 percent) in the Mountain division (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) and the Pacific division (+2.1 percent). The two divisions experiencing price decreases from March to April were the West South Central (Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana) and New England, each down 0.2 percent.

The Pacific division (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California) posted the largest yearly increase, 17.1 percent, with the Mountain division second at 14.8 percent. The HPI was up in all nine regions on an annual basis with the smallest increase, 2.9 percent, posted in the Middle Atlantic division comprised of New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

FHFA's HPI is calculated using home sales price information from mortgages either sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.