Appreciation Rates

NeighborhoodScout's^® Exclusive Home Appreciation Rates

NeighborhoodScout reveals the home appreciation rates for every city, town, and even most neighborhoods in America.

NeighborhoodScout has calculated and provides home appreciation rates as a percentage change in the resale value of existing homes in that city, town or neighborhood over the latest quarter, the last year, 2-years, 5-years, 10-years, and even from 2000 to present. We show both the cumulative appreciation rate, and the average annual appreciation rate for each time period (e.g., last 5-years: 84% total appreciation, Avg. per year: 16.8%). We also show how each city, town or neighborhood's appreciation rate compares to other cities, towns and neighborhoods in the nation, and within the same state (e.g., 9 relative to the nation, 5 relative to California [10 is highest]). This makes comparisons of house appreciation rates equally easy for professional investors and individual homebuyers. In this example, the neighborhood is one of the highest appreciating in the nation over the last 5-years, but is only average in appreciation for the same period relative to other neighborhoods in the state of California.

About the appreciation rate data

Our data are designed to capture changes in the value of single-family homes at the city, town and even the neighborhood level. Different neighborhoods within a city or town can have drastically different home appreciation rates. NeighborhoodScout vividly reveals such differences. Our data are built upon median house values in each neighborhood, and combine data from the United States Bureau of the Census with quarterly house resale data. The data reflect appreciation rates for the neighborhood overall, not necessarily each individual house in the neighborhood.

Our data are calculated and updated every three months for each neighborhood, city and town, approximately two months after the end of the previous quarter. Each quarter, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac provide their most recent mortgage transactions to the FHFA. These data are combined with the data of the previous 29 years to establish price differentials on properties where more than one mortgage transaction has occurred. The data are merged with neighborhood-specific median house values from the Census Bureau using NeighborhoodScout's proprietary algorithms developed by Dr. Schiller, creating an updated historical database that is then used to estimate the appreciation rates for each city, town and neighborhood within each time period. These resultant neighborhood appreciation rates are a broad measure of the movement of single-family house prices. The appreciation rates serve as an accurate indicator of house price trends at the neighborhood level.

How is the home appreciation data calculated?

Neighborhood appreciation rates from NeighborhoodScout are based on both median house value data reported by respondents via the U.S. Bureau of the Census, and a weighted repeat sales index, meaning that they measure average price changes in repeat sales or refinancings on the same properties. This information is obtained by reviewing repeat mortgage transactions on single-family properties whose mortgages have been purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac (by the FHFA). Then proprietary algorithms developed by Dr. Schiller, NeighborhoodScout's founder, are applied to produce neighborhood appreciation rates. Appreciation rates are updated by NeighborhoodScout each quarter as additional mortgages are purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The new mortgage acquisitions are used to identify repeat transactions for the most recent quarter, then are fed into NeighborhoodScout's search algorithms.

What transactions are covered in the appreciation rate data?

Neighborhood appreciation rate data are based on transactions involving conforming, conventional mortgages. Only mortgage transactions on single-family properties are included. Conforming refers to a mortgage that both meets the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and that doesn't exceed the conforming loan limit, a figure linked to an index published by the Federal Housing Finance Board. Conventional means that the mortgages are neither insured nor guaranteed by the FHA, VA, or other federal government entity.

Mortgages on properties financed by government-insured loans, such as FHA or VA mortgages, are excluded, as are properties with mortgages whose principal amount exceeds the conforming loan limit. Mortgage transactions on condominiums or multi-unit properties are also excluded. As such, NeighborhoodScout does not produce appreciation rates for neighborhoods that consist solely of renters or have no single-family homes (dwellings without an entrance directly to the outside).