House Prices Continue to Appreciate in Second Quarter
Limited resale inventory and strong growth in demand continued to put upward pressure on house prices through the first half of 2024.
According to the quarterly all-transactions House Price Index (HPI) released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024, all 50 states and the District of Columbia had positive house price appreciation, ranging from 1.5% to 10.4%. West Virginia led the way with the highest price appreciation (+10.4%). It was followed by New Jersey (+10.1%) and New Hampshire (+9.1%). Meanwhile, Louisiana had the lowest price growth (+1.5%).
Nationally, house prices grew at a relatively slower pace, compared to double-digit annual growth during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the FHFA HPI, U.S. house prices rose 5.9% in the second quarter of 2024, compared to the second quarter of 2023. This rate of price growth decreased from 6.4% in the first quarter of 2024.
Among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, 28 states exceeded the national growth rate of 5.9%. Compared to the first quarter of 2024, 35 out of the 50 states had a deceleration in house price appreciation in the second quarter.
House prices have changed unevenly across U.S. metro areas from the second quarter of 2023 to the second quarter of 2024. NAHB Director of Forecasting and Analysis Jing Fu provides more details, including interactive maps, in this Eye on Housing post.
Latest from NAHBNow
In his bi-weekly newsletter, Eye On the Economy, NAHB Chief Economist Dr. Robert Dietz summarized several notable headwinds for housing, and offered his insights on what those data points will mean for the industry in 2027.
Every October, NAHB and the residential construction industry celebrate Careers in Construction Month, a time to raise awareness of the rewarding opportunities available in the skilled trades.
Latest Economic News
Private residential construction spending rose in August 2026 following a series of declines during the second quarter of the year. According to the latest construction spending data from the U.S. Census Bureau, private residential construction spending came in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of $882.3 billion in August, up 1.1% from July but down 4.8% from a year ago.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly changing how work gets done, but its impact varies considerably across occupations. For most construction occupations, near-term exposure to AI remains relatively low.
Real gross domestic product (GDP) increased in 44 states and the District of Columbia in the second quarter of 2026, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).