RHPI reveals inflation-adjusted metro home values over the years

First American Financial Corporation released the Real House Price Index (RHPI) for homes in America, tracing data back to 2000 to measure home prices and affordability based on adjusted income and changing interest rates. The findings? America's RHPI is currently 39.6 percent lower than it was during the pre-recession peak in 2006. The RHPI is driven by three factors; income, mortgage rates and an unadjusted house price index. The incomes and mortgage rates are used to inflate or deflate the unadjusted house prices to determine consumer purchase power and obtain a truer cost of housing to consumers. First American's Chief Economist Mark Fleming wrote in the report that although house prices are reported, they are only reported as numbers. Out of context, or without adjusting for inflation, the nominal price of homes cannot represent the true cost without taking inflation into consideration. In other words, "the price of a house today is not directly comparable to the pri...