Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA, 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 located within the Spokane metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which includes Spokane and Spokane Valley.

The HPI is based on data from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's conventional, conforming mortgage purchases. The HPI value for a particular quarter represents the average change in home prices during that quarter compared to home prices during the base period of the index (the first quarter of 1991). Home prices are deflated by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) to allow for comparisons over time.

As of the fourth quarter of 2019, the HPI for the Spokane MSA was 176.4, up 5.6% from a year earlier and up 1% from the previous quarter. This means that home prices in the area have increased at an annual rate of 5.6% since 1991 and have increased 1% since last quarter.

Since its peak in early 2006, prior to the housing market crash, home prices in Spokane have declined by about 12%. However, prices have been on an upward trend since bottoming out in early 2011 and are now about 15% above their post-crash lows. The recent rise in home prices has been driven by strong economic growth in eastern Washington state as well as low mortgage rates and limited supply of available homes for sale relative to population growth and household formation rates