U.S. Housing Price Index

Understanding U.S. Housing Price Trends

Welcome to my Housing Price Index project. This website explores how housing price index values have changed over time and how patterns differ across geographic regions in the United States.

The project uses data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index to examine long-term housing market patterns.

Project at a Glance

Observations

186,011

Housing price index observations in the dataset.

Locations

472

Geographic locations represented.

Starting Year

1975

Beginning of the dataset’s time period.

Ending Year

2026

Latest year represented in the dataset.

Housing Prices Over Time

The chart below summarizes the annual average housing price index across the observations in the dataset.

What Is a Housing Price Index?

A housing price index provides a way to examine changes in home prices over time. Instead of focusing on the price of one individual home, an index summarizes price movement across a group of properties.

The FHFA House Price Index is based on repeat transactions and refinancings involving single-family properties with mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. :contentReferenceoaicite:1

Explore the Project

Use the navigation bar to explore different parts of the analysis.

Housing Trends — examine changes in the index over time.
Regional Comparisons — compare patterns across U.S. Census Divisions.
Housing Stories — explore several patterns found in the data.
Market Insights — examine summary measurements and variation.
Data Explorer — look more closely at the underlying observations.
About — learn about the project, creator, and data source.

--- title: "U.S. Housing Price Index" --- # Understanding U.S. Housing Price Trends Welcome to my Housing Price Index project. This website explores how housing price index values have changed over time and how patterns differ across geographic regions in the United States. The project uses data from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index to examine long-term housing market patterns. ```{r} #| echo: false #| message: false #| warning: false library(tidyverse) df <- read_csv("data/hpi_master.csv", show_col_types = FALSE) total_observations <- nrow(df) number_of_locations <- n_distinct(df$place_name) first_year <- min(df$yr, na.rm = TRUE) last_year <- max(df$yr, na.rm = TRUE) annual <- df |> group_by(yr) |> summarize( average_index = mean(index_nsa, na.rm = TRUE), .groups = "drop" ) ``` ## Project at a Glance ::: {.columns} ::: {.column width="25%"} ### Observations **`r format(total_observations, big.mark = ",")`** Housing price index observations in the dataset. ::: ::: {.column width="25%"} ### Locations **`r number_of_locations`** Geographic locations represented. ::: ::: {.column width="25%"} ### Starting Year **`r first_year`** Beginning of the dataset's time period. ::: ::: {.column width="25%"} ### Ending Year **`r last_year`** Latest year represented in the dataset. ::: ::: ## Housing Prices Over Time The chart below summarizes the annual average housing price index across the observations in the dataset. ```{r} #| echo: false #| message: false #| warning: false ggplot(annual, aes(x = yr, y = average_index)) + geom_line(linewidth = 1) + theme_minimal() + labs( title = "Average Housing Price Index Over Time", subtitle = "Annual average across observations", x = "Year", y = "Average Housing Price Index" ) ``` ## What Is a Housing Price Index? A housing price index provides a way to examine changes in home prices over time. Instead of focusing on the price of one individual home, an index summarizes price movement across a group of properties. The FHFA House Price Index is based on repeat transactions and refinancings involving single-family properties with mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} ## Explore the Project Use the navigation bar to explore different parts of the analysis. - **Housing Trends** — examine changes in the index over time. - **Regional Comparisons** — compare patterns across U.S. Census Divisions. - **Housing Stories** — explore several patterns found in the data. - **Market Insights** — examine summary measurements and variation. - **Data Explorer** — look more closely at the underlying observations. - **About** — learn about the project, creator, and data source.