House Price Index Technical Documentation
19. How is the FHFA HPI constructed for MSAs?
The website says that FHFA uses the 2015 definitions based on the 2010 Census to define each MSA. Is this true for all time periods covered by each index? Or do the definitions change over time as the Census expanded its MSA definitions? For example, if the definition of an MSA added three counties between 1980 and 2000, would the value of the index in 1980 cover the three counties that were not included in the 1980 SMSA definition?
The HPI is recomputed historically each quarter. The MSA definition used to compute the 1982 (for example) index value in Anchorage, AK would be the most recent definition. The series is comparable backwards.
