Home prices nationally, which essentially flat-lined in September, appear to have resume a moderate rate of increase.  The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said on Tuesday that its home price index, unchanged from August to September, posted a 0.6 percent increase in October. The October index for the entire U.S. was 215.4, up from 214.2 the previous month.  The October number was 4.5 percent higher than the index in October 2013. 

FHFA's HPI is calculated using home sales prices from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by the government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  The index is based on this calculation in January 1991 when it was set at 100.

The HPI increased in six of the nine census divisions, the exceptions being the previously high-flying Pacific division where the HPI was down 0.3 percent, the first time since at least May 2013 that this division posted a decline.  West South Central Division was down 0.2 percent and the Middle Atlantic division has a 0.1 percent dip.  The greatest increases were in the South Atlantic which was up 1.5 percent, the East North Central and East South Central which rose 1.1 percent and 0.8 percent respectively.

The U.S. index has recovered to within 5.1 percent of its April 2007 peak however the rate of appreciation has slowed considerably over the last year.  Where the HPI posted an annual increase in October of 4.5 percent, the gain from October 2012 to October 2013 was 8.1 percent. 

Some deceleration in price gains occurred in all but one region and was particularly dramatic in the Pacific division where a 17.3 percent gain in the 12 months ended October 2013 became a 6.0 increase the following year.  Increases in the West also slowed, going from 12.8 percent to 5.1 percent in the two relevant time periods.

FHFA said that its HPI for October indicates that prices nationally are roughly the same as they were in September 2005.