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The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. house prices were flat in January, according to its House Price Index. However, on a year-ago basis, house prices in January were up 5.7 percent.

The FHFA calculates its home sales price information from mortgages sold to or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The HPI has reported positive monthly increases since early 2012, except for November 2013 and January, when house prices were flat on a month-over-month basis, the FHFA noted.

In a NAFCU Macro Data Flash report on existing-home sales released to members yesterday, NAFCU Research Assistant Yun Cohen said that there is a steady demand for houses, but a lack of supply puts upward pressure on prices. "Overall," she added, "the outlook [for home sales] remains positive in light of a strong labor market and improving rates of household formation."

For the nine census divisions, the FHFA reported, seasonally adjusted monthly price changes from December 2016 to January 2017 ranged from -2 percent in the East South Central division to +0.6 percent in the Pacific division. The 12-month changes were all positive, ranging from +3.5 percent in the East South Central division to +8.3 percent in the Mountain division.