Monroe, MI Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

In the Monroe, MI, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index for the fourth quarter of 2019, the home equity and home prices both increased from the previous quarter. The home equity index rose from 95.64 to 96.09, while the home price index increased from 97.17 to 98.02.

The rise in home equity is due to an increase in house prices and a decrease in mortgage debt outstanding. The combination of these two factors caused the home equity index to increase from 95.64 to 96.09.

The rise in house prices is attributable to a number of factors, including low interest rates, population growth, and limited supply of housing relative to population growth and household formation rates. In addition, Monroe County has experienced strong economic growth recently, with job growth outpacing that of the state as a whole and wages rising faster than inflation. These trends have led more people to move into Monroe County and compete for a limited number of homes available for sale or rent, driving up prices further.

The decrease in mortgage debt outstanding is due primarily to homeowners paying down their mortgage balances faster than they did last year as well as refinancing their mortgages at lower interest rates when rates fell throughout 2019 (in response to concerns about potential economic slowdown). Together, these two factors caused the amount of mortgage debt outstanding on single-family homes in Monroe County to fall by $41 million over the course of 2019.