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M R EP O RT | 39 O R I G I NAT I O N S E R V I C I N G DATA G O V E R N M E N T S E C O N DA R Y M A R K E T THE LATEST ORIGINATION Housing Markets See Positive Annual Appreciation Housing markets have continued to experience positive annual appreciation since the start of 2012, while home prices rose in all 50 states. A ccording to the Fed- eral Housing Finance Agency House Price Index (FHFA), U.S. home prices rose 17.5% from Q 4 of 2020 to Q 4 of 2021. House prices were up 3.3% compared to Q 3 of 2021. FHFA's seasonally adjusted monthly index for December was up 1.2% from November. "House prices continued to climb but not as rapidly during the final quarter of 2021 as in earlier quarters," said William Doerner, Ph.D., Supervisory Economist in FHFA's Division of Research and Statistics. "Housing trends over the past year have created challenges. The quick house price gains may be counterbalanced as mortgage rates increase. However, more expensive housing has elevated affordability to become a broader concern as available supply re- mains limited." According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications dropped 5.4% week over week, for the week ending February 11, 2022. Earlier findings showed the refinance share of overall mortgage activity decreased to 52.8% of total applications from 56.2% the previous week. The adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) share of activity increased to 5% of total applications. As rates rise and applications dip, buyers are still sifting through the limited supply of homes avail- able during the four weeks ending February 6, active listings—defined as the number of homes listed for sale at any point during the pe- riod—fell 29% year over year, drop- ping to an all-time low of 440,000. Listings were down 50% from the same period in 2020. Housing markets have contin- ued to experience positive annual appreciation since the start of 2012, while home prices rose in all 50 states and the District of Columbia between Q 4 of 2020 and 2021. The five areas with the highest annual appreciation were: » Arizona (27.4%) » Utah (27.1%) » Idaho (27.0) » Florida (25.6%) » Tennessee (24.1%) The areas showing the lowest annual appreciation were: » District of Columbia (6.6%) » Louisiana (10.2%) » North Dakota (10.3%) » Maryland (10.8%) » Alaska (11.3%) House prices rose in all of the top 100 largest metro areas over the last four quarters. Annual price increases were greatest in Cape Coral-Fort Myers, Florida, where prices increased by 34.6%. Prices were weakest in Frederick- Gaithersburg-Rockville, Maryland, where they increased by only 8.5%. Of the nine census divisions, the Mountain division recorded the strongest four-quarter apprecia- tion, posting a 23.1% gain between the four quarters of 2020 and 2021, and a 3.5% increase in Q 4 of 2021. Annual home price appreciation was weakest in the West North Central division, where prices rose by 13.6%.