West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL (MSAD) Federal Housing Finance Agency Home Price Index (FHFA HPI)

The West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL 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 for West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL was released on March 31, 2016 and showed that home prices in the metro area had increased by 6.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014 to the fourth quarter of 2015. This was slightly higher than the national rate of appreciation, which was 5.7 percent over the same time period.

There are several factors that have contributed to the increase in home prices in West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Boynton Beach, FL. The first is that there has been an increase in demand for housing in the area due to population growth. The population of Palm Beach County grew by 1.4 percent from 2014 to 2015, and is projected to grow by another 1.6 percent from 2015 to 2016. This population growth has led to an increase in demand for housing, which has put upward pressure on prices.

Another factor that has contributed to rising home prices is low mortgage rates. Mortgage rates have been at historic lows since the Great Recession, and this has made it easier for people to afford a home purchase. Low mortgage rates have also helped to spur demand for housing as people who may have been on the fence about buying a home decide to take advantage of low financing costs while they last.

Inventory levels have also played a role in rising home prices as there has been a decrease in available homes for sale relative to population growth and increases in demand due largely to low mortgage rates . Accordingto Realtor .com , inventory levels fell by 9 percent from December 2014 through December 2015 . This decrease means that there are fewer homes available for sale relative to buyers , which puts upward pressure on prices .

Lastly , another factor influencing higher home prices is investor activity . After the housing market crash , many investors bought up properties at foreclosure auctions or deeply discounted short sales with plans to rent them out or sell them later at a profit . As these properties have come back onto market , they ’ ve helped drive up median sale prices because they ’ re typically sold at a premium compared with traditional sales .