How Far Home Prices Have Climbed Since the Pandemic (2026)
Prices are up by double digits everywhere since early 2020, but far more in some regions than others.
Key findings
- From January 2020 to July 2026, U.S. home prices rose +63% in total on the FHFA purchase-only index, one of the largest multi-year run-ups in the series.
- The New England division led the boom at +78%, while Pacific saw the smallest gain at +48%.
- Every region posted a large increase: even the slowest division is up well over a third since the pandemic began.
- This is cumulative index growth, so it measures how much faster prices rose in some regions than others, not the dollar price of a home.
The pandemic touched off the fastest sustained home-price surge in modern memory. This measures how far the FHFA purchase-only index has risen from January 2020 through July 2026, for the nation and each Census division. The gains are enormous and uneven: the fastest climbs since 2020 have been in the Northeast and Midwest, while the Pacific coast has risen least. An index tracks price change relative to a base period, not dollar price levels.
Growth since January 2020, through July 2026
Cumulative home-price growth since January 2020
| Cumulative growth | Growth since Jan 2020 |
|---|---|
| New England | 78.2% |
| Middle Atlantic | 75.8% |
| East North Central | 73.3% |
| South Atlantic | 68.1% |
| East South Central | 65.9% |
| West North Central | 61% |
| Mountain | 59.9% |
| West South Central | 50.3% |
| Pacific | 47.7% |
By region
| Region | Growth since Jan 2020 |
|---|---|
| United States | +63% |
| New England | +78% |
| Middle Atlantic | +76% |
| East North Central | +73% |
| South Atlantic | +68% |
| East South Central | +66% |
| West North Central | +61% |
| Mountain | +60% |
| West South Central | +50% |
| Pacific | +48% |
FHFA purchase-only monthly index, cumulative change from January 2020 (not seasonally adjusted). Index percent change, not dollar prices.
Data Sources & Methodology
The figures on this page are computed directly from the source data below. Narrative text accompanies the figures but never generates them.
FHFA House Price Index (HPI)
- Publisher:
- Federal Housing Finance Agency
- Vintage:
- 2026
- Access:
- BigQuery
- Cadence:
- monthly
The Federal Housing Finance Agency House Price Index measures changes in single-family home values using a repeat-sales method on mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The master file carries every published series: monthly indexes for the nation and the nine Census divisions, and quarterly indexes for states and metropolitan areas, in multiple index types, back to the 1970s.
The HPI is a weighted repeat-sales index: it tracks price changes on the same homes over time using mortgage transactions acquired or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Values are index levels relative to a base period, not dollar prices.
Monthly indexes are published for the United States and the nine Census divisions; state and metropolitan-area indexes are quarterly. Both seasonally adjusted and not-seasonally-adjusted series are provided.
Price growth is computed as the percent change in the index between two periods. Because it is an index, comparisons are about rate of change, not absolute price levels between places.
- The purchase-only and standard indexes cover only homes with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages, so cash sales and homes financed outside the enterprises are not included.
- It is an index of price change, not a measure of dollar price levels, so two places with the same index are not equally expensive.
- Monthly detail exists only for the nation and Census divisions; state and metro series are quarterly.
- Recent periods can be revised as more transactions are reported.
How these figures were produced
- Estimate type:
- Repeat-sales price index (not a count or dollar level)
- Weighting:
- Repeat-sales weighting of enterprise-acquired mortgages
Suggested citation
Federal Housing Finance Agency, House Price Index, 2026. Analysis by Matt George, itsmattgeorge.com. Retrieved 2026-10-24.