Historical estimates of the HPI revise for three primary reasons:
- The HPI is based on repeat transactions. That is, the estimates of appreciation are based on repeated valuations of the same property over time. Therefore, each time a property "repeats" in the form of a sale or refinance, average appreciation since the prior sale/refinance period is influenced.
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) purchase seasoned loans, providing new information about prior quarters.
- Due to a 30- to 45-day lag time from loan origination to Enterprise funding, FHFA receives data on new fundings for one additional month following the last month of the quarter. These fundings contain many loans originating in that most recent quarter, and especially the last month of the quarter. This will reduce with subsequent revisions, however data on loans purchased with a longer lag, including seasoned loans, will continue to generate revisions, especially for the most recent quarters.
In connection with the release of the 2012Q2 HPI results, a special revision was made to two historical HPI values. In prior releases, the all-transactions index values for Vermont-1976Q1 and West Virginia-1982Q1 were both reported to be 100.01. Those values were not correct; index values for those respective periods should have been set to missing because no modeling data were available in the underlying sample. The HPI releases for 2012Q2 and later periods reflect the change.
