Iowa City, IA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Iowa City, IA, 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 was created in order to be a more accurate measure of house price changes than other commonly used indices because it uses data on actual transactions rather than appraisals.

Between 2000 and 2006, home equity in the Iowa City area increased by an average of $9,819 per year. In 2007, home equity growth slowed to an average of $3,040 per year. From 2008 to 2011, home equity declined by an average of $2,335 per year. In 2012, home equity began to recover, growing by an average of $4,716 per year. Between 2013 and 2017, home equity grew by an average of $664 per year.

During the same time period, the FHFA HPI for Iowa City showed that prices increased by an average of 3.1% per year between 2000 and 2006. Prices then fell by an average of 2% per year from 2007 to 2011 before beginning to recover in 2012. Between 2013 and 2017 prices increased by an average of 2% per year.

The relationship between home equity growth and house price appreciation has been strong in recent years. This is likely due to the fact that many homeowners are using their homes as collateral for loans used to finance other investments such as stocks or cryptocurrency. As long as house prices continue to increase at a similar rate to or faster than inflation, homeowners will continue to see their investment grow in value.