U.S. house prices were up 0.5 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis from September to October and rose 5.6 percent from the level 12 months earlier according to the Federal Housing Finance Agency's House Price Index (HPI).  The previously reported 0.2 percent increase in September was revised downward to a 0.0 percent change. 

The U.S. index is 15.7 percent below its April 2007 peak and is roughly the same as the July 2004 index level.

FHFA uses the purchase prices of houses with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to calculate the monthly index.

On a regional basis the HPI increased in seven out of the nine regions with the greatest change in the Mountain region (Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico) where prices increased from September to October by 0.8 percent.  Prices fell 1.3 percent in the Middle Atlantic region (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania) and 0.3 percent in New England.

New England was the only region where prices decreased and that was a minimal 0.1 percent.  The Mountain region had a 13.1 percent jump in prices followed by the Pacific region (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California) where prices were up 9.6 percent