Boise City, ID Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Boise City, ID, 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 with mortgages owned or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

The HPI value for a particular geographic area is calculated using data from home sales that have closed and been recorded in public land records. The specific properties included in the HPI may change over time as new data becomes available.

As of December 2020, the Boise City HPI was 225.4, up 7.2% from December 2019. This increase marks the fourth consecutive year of positive annual growth and the highest annual rate of growth since 2013.

Home equity is the portion of a property's value that is owned outright by the homeowner. In other words, it's the difference between what your home is worth and how much you still owe on any mortgages or other loans used to purchase it.

For example, if your home is worth $250,000 and you have a mortgage balance of $150,000, your home equity would be $100,000. Home equity can increase if either property values rise or mortgage balances fall – or both!

In Boise City specifically, we've seen strong increases in home equity over the past few years as both property values and mortgage rates have remained low. As of September 2020, Zillow estimates that homeowners in Boise City had an average of $61,600 in home equity – up from just $17,400 in 2012!

There are many reasons why homeowners might choose to tap into their home equity through methods like cash-out refinances or home equity lines of credit (HELOCs). Some use this extra money to make improvements to their homes; others may use it for major expenses like college tuition or medical bills; and still others may simply want to consolidate other debts into one manageable monthly payment with a lower interest rate than they're currently paying elsewhere.

Whatever the reason may be, it's important to remember that tapping into your home equity comes with risks – namely, that you could end up owing more on your mortgage than your home is actually worth if property values were to decline suddenly (as we saw during the Great Recession). So while tapping into your home equity can certainly give you some financial breathing room in the short term, it's important to consider all potential risks before making any decisions about whether or not it's right for you personally.