Ames, IA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Ames, IA, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index that measures average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. The index covers single-family homes nationwide and offers a more timely measure of house price trends than other existing indices.

Between 2000 and 2006, home equity in the United States increased rapidly as home prices soared. The median home value in Ames, IA rose from $92,000 in 2000 to $127,000 in 2006, an increase of 38%. This increase in home values led to a corresponding increase in home equity. Homeowners saw their equity stake in their homes grow from an average of $51,000 to $69,000 over the same period – an increase of 35%.

The rapid appreciation of home values came to a screeching halt during the housing market crash of 2007-2008. Home prices fell sharply across the country, and Ames was no exception. Between 2006 and 2011, the median home value in Ames fell by 19%, from $127,000 to $103,000. This decrease in home values led to a corresponding decrease in homeowners’ equity stakes; the average homeowner’s equity decreased from $69,000 to just $54,000 over this five-year period – a decline of 22%.

Since bottoming out in 2011, however, both home values and homeowners’ equity stakes have been on the rise once again. Between 2011 and 2016 (the most recent year for which data is available), the median home value in Ames increased by 23%, rising back up to $127,000. Over this same five-year period homeowners’ equity stakes grew even faster; the average homeowner’s equity increased by 41%, rising back up to $76 000. As of 2016 then homeowners had regained about two-thirds of the ground they had lost during the housing market crash.