Data Analysis

U.S. prices rose 2.1 percent for the year while Florida managed 0.96 percent, ranked 41st among states.

The national index rose 0.3 percent for the quarter and June was flat. Inside Florida the split is wide: North Port-Sarasota up 3.16 percent and Tampa up 2.09, against Miami at negative 0.27 and Jacksonville at negative 0.37.

What the number is

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported Tuesday that U.S. house prices rose 2.1 percent between the second quarter of 2025 and the second quarter of 2026. Prices rose 0.3 percent from the first quarter, and the seasonally adjusted monthly index for June was unchanged from May.

The spread across the country is the story under the headline. Alaska led the states at 8.3 percent appreciation and New Mexico posted the largest decline at 1.2 percent. Across the nine census divisions, growth ranged from 4.46 percent in the East North Central down to 0.02 percent in the Pacific.

Where Florida sits

Florida appreciated 0.96 percent over the four quarters, ranking 41st among the states. That is less than half the national rate.

The metro tables split the state cleanly in two. North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota rose 3.16 percent and Tampa rose 2.09 percent. Orlando managed 0.72 percent. Miami fell 0.27 percent and Jacksonville fell 0.37 percent, both negative over a full year of transactions.

A year ago the usual framing had South Florida carrying the state. In this index the Gulf Coast is doing the carrying, and the two largest eastern metros are the drag.

What it means if you are buying or selling

A 41st place ranking means Florida sellers are pricing into one of the weakest appreciation environments in the country, whatever the national headline says. In Miami and Jacksonville, a seller pricing off last year's comparables is above where this index says the market has moved.

For buyers, flat to negative prints in major metros are the conditions where negotiation works. The index measures closed transactions with conforming loans, so it reflects what ordinary financed buyers actually paid.

Limitations

The FHFA index covers homes financed with conforming mortgages bought or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Cash sales, jumbo loans, and FHA and VA loans are outside it, which matters in Florida where cash shares run high, so it describes the financed slice of the market rather than all of it.

Quarterly state and metro figures are all-transactions estimates and get revised as more data posts. The monthly national line in the chart is the purchase-only series and its year over year figure is computed from the current data vintage, which revises history slightly with each release.

Sources

Federal Housing Finance Agency, U.S. House Price Index Report, 2026 Q2 and June 2026, released August 25, 2026. https://www.fhfa.gov/reports/house-price-index/2026/Q2

Monthly purchase-only index series via FRED (HPIPONM226S), retrieved August 25, 2026.

Disclosure: Jon Brooks is a co-founder of Momentum Realty, a Florida real estate brokerage that owns and funds Florida Housing Intelligence. Momentum has a financial interest in Florida real estate transactions, including in markets named here. See our editorial standards.