San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index (HPI) is a weighted, repeat-sales index measuring average price changes in single-family houses in the metropolitan statistical area. The HPI is a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices and covers both new and existing houses. The FHFA HPI is constructed using data from home sales information provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As of December 2020, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad FHFA HPI was 276.1, up 5.8% from December 2019. This increase marks the 28th consecutive month of year-over-year increases in the FHFA HPI for this metro area. Home prices have now recovered to their prerecession peak set in September 2005 and are up 36% from their trough set in April 2009.

The strong rise in home prices over the past few years has been driven by historically low mortgage rates, strong job growth, and limited supply of homes for sale relative to population growth and housing demand. The combination of these factors has resulted in increased competition among buyers for available homes and upward pressure on prices.

Looking forward, it is unclear how long these trends will continue given the current economic uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. However, given that interest rates are expected to remain low and job growth is projected to continue in 2021, it is likely that home prices will continue to rise at a moderate pace throughout the year.