Freddie: Home Price Rises Continue Slowdown

Home prices increased at an annualized rate of 3.9% nationwide in the fourth quarter, down from a revised rate of 5.3% in the third quarter, according to Freddie Mac.The annual house price appreciation rate was 6.6% from the fourth quarter of 2001 through the fourth quarter of 2002, according to the Conventional Mortgage Home Price Index released by Freddie Mac. The index showed that the New England states recorded the largest gains in home prices in the fourth quarter, rising at an annualized rate of 7.3%. The Pacific states followed with a 6.1% annualized growth rate, and the Middle Atlantic states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania finished third with a 4.8% growth rate. "Although the rate of growth in house prices is slowing, the annualized growth rate still remains at or above inflation in all nine census regions," said Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist. The index was jointly developed by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Freddie Mac can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.