Limited resale inventory and strong growth in demand continued to put upward pressure on house prices through the first half of 2024.
According to the quarterly all-transactions House Price Index (HPI) released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024, all 50 states and the District of Columbia experienced positive house price appreciation, ranging from 1.5% to 10.4%. West Virginia led with the highest price appreciation (+10.4%), followed by New Jersey (+10.1%) and New Hampshire (+9.1%). Meanwhile, Louisiana had the lowest price growth (+1.5%).
Nationally, house prices grew at a relatively slower pace compared to double-digit annual growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the FHFA HPI, U.S. house prices rose 5.9% in the second quarter of 2024 compared to the second quarter of 2023. This rate of price growth decreased from 6.4% in the first quarter of 2024.
Among all states and the District of Columbia, 28 states exceeded the national growth rate of 5.9%. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, 35 out of these jurisdictions saw a deceleration in house price appreciation in the second quarter.
House prices have changed unevenly across U.S. metro areas from Q2 2023 to Q2 2024. NAHB Director of Forecasting and Analysis Jing Fu provides more details, including interactive maps, in this Eye on Housing post.