Understanding the Freddie Mac House Price Index (FMHPI®)
The Freddie Mac House Price Index (FMHPI®) provides a month-by-month measure of U.S. home price trends by tracking repeat sales of the same properties, making it a more reliable indicator of true price movement than median or average prices. Updated through March 2026, the index shows that national home prices remain roughly 51% above March 2020 levels, highlighting how much of the pandemic-era appreciation is still embedded in the broader U.S. housing market. Notably, 10 of the top 40 major metros reached new all-time highs in March 2026, led by Midwest and Northeast markets including Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and St. Louis.
Austin stands in clear contrast. Home prices in the Austin metro are now down 18.9% from their May 2022 peak, representing the deepest correction among all major U.S. markets tracked in the index. Prices are also down 4.4% year over year and fell 1.3% month over month in March 2026, confirming that price normalization is still actively working through the local market.
The latest Freddie Mac House Price Index (March 2026, released April 30, 2026) confirms that Austin remains the most pronounced post-pandemic housing correction among major U.S. metro areas. Home prices in the Austin metro are now 18.9% below their May 2022 peak, marking the deepest peak-to-trough decline tracked across all 40 major metros in the index. The national average decline from peak is just 1.9% — meaning Austin's correction is roughly ten times the typical major metro.
Scroll down to view the full Freddie Mac House Price Index report for the latest release.
On a year-over-year basis, Austin home prices are down 4.4%, while the average across major metros is a gain of 3.2%. Monthly readings continue to show softening, with a 1.3% month-over-month decline reported for March 2026 — the largest single-month drop of any metro in the report. Rather than a sharp rebound, Austin's price trend reflects a steady normalization following one of the fastest appreciation cycles in the country from 2020 through early 2022.
Even with the ongoing correction, Austin home values remain materially above pre-pandemic levels. Since March 2020, cumulative price appreciation in the Austin metro still stands at 31.6%, confirming that a meaningful portion of the pandemic-era gains remains embedded in the market. However, Austin now trails virtually every peer metro — markets such as Miami (+78.2%), Tampa (+67.5%), and Charlotte (+67.3%) have held far more of their pandemic-era appreciation.
At the national level, home prices remain well above early 2020 benchmarks, underscoring the divergence between Austin and the broader U.S. housing market. While many regions appear to be settling into a more stable pricing environment, Austin continues to adjust as excess appreciation from the pandemic surge is gradually absorbed. The Freddie Mac House Price Index reinforces that this normalization process is still underway — with 170 of 384 cities hitting new all-time price peaks in March 2026, Austin sits at the opposite end of the spectrum as one of the clearest examples of a market working through a full post-cycle reset.
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