U.S. home prices rose 3.7% for the 12-month period ending in July when compared to year earlier levels, the Federal Housing Finance Agency said Tuesday.
The index edged up 0.2% from June to July, and June’s reported 0.7% increase was revised down to 0.6%.
The U.S. home price index is still 16.4% below the peak reached in April 2007, but is now at roughly the same level obtained in June 2004, according to the FHFA index.
The FHA obtains its data by studying the purchase prices on mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The report comes out the same day that the S&P Case-Shiller shows July prices rising in both the 10-city and 20-city composite indices.