Bay City, MI Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index for Bay City, MI was released today and showed that home prices in the area increased by 0.4% from the previous quarter. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of positive growth for Bay City, and brings the city's index value to 133.2, which is 6.2% above the pre-recession peak of 125.4 set in Q3 of 2005.

This latest data indicates that the housing market in Bay City continues to strengthen, as prices have now risen on a year-over-year basis for eight consecutive quarters. The city's index value is also now just 1% below its all-time high set in Q1 of 2000.

One key factor driving Bay City's housing market recovery has been the strong growth in home equity values across Michigan. According to CoreLogic, statewide home equity values increased by $17 billion during 2017, which was the largest annual gain since 2006. This increase in home equity has helped to support higher prices and sales activity as homeowners have been able to tap into their equity to finance purchases or renovations.

Looking ahead, it is expected that home prices in Bay City will continue to rise as demand remains strong and inventory levels remain tight. The median sale price for a home in the city hit a new all-time high of $180,000 during Q4 of 2017, and it is likely that this trend will continue into 2018 as well.