Flagstaff, AZ Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index for Flagstaff, AZ, showed that home equity and prices increased in the fourth quarter of 2019. This was the fourth consecutive quarter of increases, and the index is now 8.4 percent higher than its pre-recession peak.

Home prices in Flagstaff have been rising steadily for several years, but they really took off in 2019. The median sales price of a home in Flagstaff was $392,000 in 2019, up from $347,000 in 2018. This represents an increase of more than 13 percent.

The FHFA index is based on sales prices of single-family homes with conforming loan amounts that are owned by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. In order to be included in the index, a home must have been sold at least two times since January 1, 2000. The data is collected from county recorder offices around the country and then adjusted for inflation.

TheFlagstaff housing market has been strong for several years now due to a combination of factors including low interest rates, a strong job market, and an influx of retirees and other people relocating from California. The median home price is still below its peak during the last housing boom in 2006 ($415,000), but it has made up a lot of ground since bottoming out at $275,000 during the Great Recession.

Home equity is also on the rise in Flagstaff as prices continue to increase. The average homeowner had $165,000 in equity at the end of 2019, up from $141,000 at the end of 2018. This represents an increase of more than 17 percent over the course of one year. Homeowners with mortgages had an average loan-to-value ratio (LTV) of 73 percent at the end of 2019 which means they had 27 percent equity stake in their homes on average. That’s up from 24 percent one year ago and 20 percent two years ago when many homeowners were “underwater” on their mortgages owing more than their homes were worth . So not only are home values going up but also people’s equity stakes are increasing as well which is good news for both homeowners and would-be buyers looking to enter the market .