WASHINGTON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Tuesday that U.S. home prices rose 1.1 percent in the third quarter for the second consecutive quarterly gain.
Freddie Mac revised its second quarter home price increase to 8.2 percent on an annualized basis. Moreover, the two-quarter increase took home prices two-fifths of the way back from price declines from fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009.
From the third quarter of 2008, home prices are down 3.9 percent on Freddie Mac's Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index Purchase-Only Series.
"The home-price gains of the past two quarters reflect improving existing home sales over that period. Sales volume was up 15 percent between the first and third quarters of this year," said Freddie Mack vice president and chief economist Frank Nothaft.
Around the country, prices in the third quarter were up highest in the Pacific Division, including Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, where prices jumped 3.9 percent.
At the bottom of the spectrum for the third quarter, prices declined 0.6 percent in the eight-state Mountain Division and 0.7 percent in the six-state New England Division.
