Wenatchee, WA Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

In the Wenatchee, WA, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) house price index (HPI), home equity is calculated as the difference between the property's value and the outstanding balance of all liens on the property. Home prices are measured by taking into account changes in both home values and mortgage debt levels.

The HPI is a weighted, repeat-sales index, meaning that it captures changes in house prices by tracking sales of the same properties over time. The index includes data on single-family properties with mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.

As of September 2020, the Wenatchee FHFA HPI was up 5.8% from a year ago and has increased 24.2% since hitting its post-recession low in December 2011. Home equity in Wenatchee has increased along with home prices, rising from an average of $160,000 in 2011 to $270,000 in 2020.

The increase in home equity has been driven by both rising home values and declining mortgage debt levels. In Wenatchee, median home values have increased from $211,000 in 2011 to $300,000 in 2020 – an increase of 41%. At the same time, average mortgage debt levels have declined 8%, from $154,000 to $142,000 over the same period.

The combination of rising home values and declining mortgage debt levels has resulted in a significant increase in homeowners’ equity positions across the country. As of September 2020, U.S. homeowners with a mortgage had an average of $227,000 in equity – more than double the amount they had just five years earlier ($88,000).

In Wenatchee specifically, this trend has been even more pronounced: Homeowners’ equity has more than tripled since 2015 ($85,000), when median home values were just beginning to recover from their pre-recession lows ($257