FHFA House Price Index Rises 0.6%
This came in just below expectations for a 0.7 percent rise.
Home prices were up 6.5 percent on the year.
December's reading was revised down to reflect a 0.5 percent rise, compared with an initial reading of 0.6 percent.
On the month, home prices were up the most in the Pacific division (Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California), rising 1.6 percent. The were the weakest in the New England division (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut), falling 0.7 percent.
Analysts have been getting increasingly bullish on home prices, with Bank of America and Capital Economics forecasting an 8 percent rise in home prices.
Earlier this month, Ivy Zelman said we're in a "nirvana for housing", and she is the most bullish she has every been.
Economists have attributed the recent bullishness to declining inventory, and a "positive feedback loop" i.e. when people think home prices are rising, they think they will continue to do so. They also think credit conditions will improve and this in turn increases demand for homes.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) covers single-family housing, using data provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Here's the trajectory of home prices since January 1991: