Gulfport-Biloxi, MS Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Gulfport-Biloxi, MS, 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 and condominiums.

The HPI value for a particular geographic area is the weighted sum of the indices for all transactions in that area during a specified time period, divided by the total number of transactions. The weights are based on transaction prices relative to the median transaction price in each geographic area during a base period. The base period is currently set at January 2000=100.0.

The HPI values are calculated using data from Fannie Mae's Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index (CMHPI), Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), and the Federal Housing Administration's Single Family Mortgage Insurance Summary Report (SFMI). Data from these sources are combined to produce estimates for nine Census divisions: New England, Middle Atlantic, East North Central, West North Central, South Atlantic, East South Central, West South Central, Mountain, and Pacific. The Gulfport-Biloxi metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is located within the South Atlantic division.

As of September 2020, the HPI for Gulfport-Biloxi was 176.4—an increase of 76.4% since January 2000—and ranked 21st among MSAs with populations over 500 thousand people1 . From August 2019 to September 2020 alone, prices increased by 3%. In contrast to most other MSAs in the country which have experienced more modest gains or even losses in home equity since 2000Q1—the beginning of our data series—Gulfport-Biloxi’s housing market has been booming. This can be attributed to several factors: firstly, as one of Mississippi’s coastal cities it was less impacted by Hurricane Katrina than other parts of the state; secondly its economy has diversified away from reliance on oil production; and thirdly it has seen significant investment in its infrastructure in recent years2 . Whatever the reasons may be behind this growth trend , one thing is certain: homeowners in Gulfport-Biloxi have seen their home equity increase significantly since 2000Q1 .

In order to better understand how this growth compares to other parts of Mississippi as well as neighboring states , we need to look at both house prices and home equity trends over time . In terms of house prices , we see that while Gulfport - Biloxi ’s metro - wide average price was $176 , 441 as of September 2020 — an increaseof 76 . 4 % since January 2000 — this growth rate was actually lower than what was seen statewide3 . In Mississippi ,the statewide average price increased by 79% over this same time period while neighboring Louisiana saw an even higher rateof 87%4 . This means that although homeowners in Gulfport-Biloxi have still benefited from rising prices , they have not seen their homes appreciate quite as much as those living elsewherein Mississippi or Louisiana . When we look at home equity trends however , we see a different story : between 2000 Q 1and 2019 Q 4 —the latest data available — homeowners with a mortgage saw their equity growfrom $17 , 664to $74 , 226on average5 ; an increaseof 322 % ! This means that not only did homeowners here benefitfrom rising prices but they also had much higher levelsof debt relativeto their property values which amplified their gains6 . And although we don’t have data beyond 2019 Q 4yet , it’s likelythat these trends continued into 2020 given that both house prices and home equity levels were still rising duringthis time7 .