Johnstown, PA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Johnstown, PA, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index measuring average price changes in single-family houses with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The HPI value for any given month is equal to the average price of homes sold during that month, divided by the average price of homes sold during the base period. The HPI covers all nine census divisions and is calculated monthly.

The Johnstown HPI began in January 1991 with a value of 100.0 and reached its peak in June 2006 at 205.6. After bottoming out in February 2012 at 131.2, the index has been on the rise and as of September 2019 stands at 172.8 (see chart below).

Home prices in Johnstown have recovered from their lows but remain well below their pre-recession peaks. Despite this, home equity has increased due to both rising home prices and declining mortgage debt levels. According to CoreLogic's Equity Report released in September 2019, homeowners with mortgages (i.e., those who are not cash buyers) saw their equity increase by $227 billion during the second quarter of 2019 alone, bringing the total amount of tappable equity to a new high of $6 trillion nationwide.

In Johnstown specifically, tappable equity per borrower grew from an average of $33,000 in Q2 2018 to $41,000 in Q2 2019 – an increase of 24%. This growth was driven primarily by rising home prices; however, declining mortgage debt levels also played a role as borrowers continued to pay down their loans or refinance into shorter-term products such as 15-year fixed rate mortgages.

With interest rates remaining low and home prices on the rise across much of the country, now may be a good time for eligible homeowners to consider tapping into their equity through a cash-out refinance or home equity line of credit (HELOC). Doing so could provide them with additional funds for major purchases or renovations while still maintaining relatively low monthly payments thanks to today's historically low borrowing costs."