Brownsville-Harlingen, TX Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Brownsville-Harlingen, TX, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index measuring average price changes in single-family houses in the metropolitan statistical area. The HPI is a useful tool for analyzing home equity and home prices in the Brownsville-Harlingen area.

As of December 2020, the FHFA HPI for the Brownsville-Harlingen area was 176.7, up from 174.8 in November 2020 and up from 170.3 in December 2019. (All numbers are rounded to one decimal place.) This means that home prices in the Brownsville-Harlingen area have increased by 3.4% over the past year and by 6.4% over the past two years.

Home equity is calculated as the difference between a property's market value and its outstanding mortgage debt. In other words, it's the portion of a property's value that belongs to the homeowner free and clear of any claims by lenders.

As of December 2020, the median home value in the Brownsville-Harlingen area was $142,000, while the median mortgage debt was $125,000. This means that homeowners in the Brownsville-Harlingen area had $17,000 in equity on average ($142,000 - $125,000). This figure has increased from $16,500 in November 2020 and from $15,700 in December 2019 due to rising home values outstripping increases in mortgage debt levels over time.

The increase in home equity can be partly attributed to rising home prices across much of Texas as well as low interest rates which have made it easier for homeowners to refinance their mortgages at lower rates and/or extend their loan terms thereby reducing their monthly payments even as their overall mortgage debt levels remain unchanged or even decline slightly due to principal repayments being applied against a smaller outstanding balance.