La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN, 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 FHFA HPI is a broad measure of home prices in the La Crosse-Onalaska area and can be useful for monitoring and analyzing trends in home prices at the regional level.

Between 2000 and 2006, home prices in the La Crosse-Onalaska area increased rapidly, rising from a HPI of 100 in 2000 to a peak of 168 in 2006. This represents an annualized price increase of 8.4%. However, since 2006 prices have fallen sharply, with the HPI falling to 130 by 2010 – a decline of 22% from its peak. Prices have been relatively flat since 2010, with the HPI hovering around 131-132 over the last few years.

There are several reasons why home prices in the La Crosse-Onalaska area have declined since 2006. Firstly, the collapse of the housing bubble led to sharp declines in home prices across much of the United States. Secondly, job losses during the Great Recession hit Wisconsin particularly hard – unemployment rose from 4% in 2007 to 9% by 2009 – which likely contributed to further declines in home prices as families struggled to make ends meet and lost their homes through foreclosure. Finally, tight credit conditions following the financial crisis made it difficult for potential buyers to obtain financing for a purchase, further depressing demand and leading to lower prices.

Despite these challenges, there are some signs that conditions in the La Crosse-Onalaska housing market are improving. Home sales have been trending upward since 2011 and are now at their highest level since 2007. In addition, job growth has picked up in recent years and unemployment has fallen back down to 4%, which should help support demand for housing going forward. With interest rates still near historic lows and credit conditions gradually loosening up, there is potential for further gains in home prices over time as more buyers enter the market