March 02, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Alabama ranked 14th in the U.S. for home price appreciation from year end 2007 to year end 2008, according to a report released this week by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Alabama was the only state to have four cities ranked in the top 10 of 292 Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) in the FHFA’s all-transactions House Price Index (HPI). Decatur took the top spot in the U.S. with a 6.58% increase in price appreciation from fourth quarter 2007 to fourth quarter 2008.
Other Alabama cities in the top 10 included fourth-ranked Tuscaloosa (4.84% increase), 8th ranked Montgomery (4.06% increase), and 9th ranked Huntsville (3.78% increase).
Alabama’s home price appreciation has increased by 22.8% over the past five years, with an average annual increase of 5.5%. In comparison, the national average for appreciation is 13% over the past five years.
“While Alabama is certainly not immune to the near-term price erosion being experienced around the country, a trend that is expected to continue in the near term, the FHFA quarterly report continues to highlight the solid underlying fundamentals of our statewide real estate values from a long term perspective,” said Grayson Glaze, Executive Director of the Alabama Center for Real Estate at the University of Alabama.
“In today’s challenging environment, consumers should remain mindful of our state’s long-term values associated with residential real estate.”
The FHFA’s House Price Indexes track average house price changes in repeat sales or refinancings of the same single-family properties. Both indexes are based on data obtained from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Soource: HBAA
