Editor's Choice for the Week of February 22, 2010: Dodd Expected to Unveil Financial Re-Reg Bill

That release will be followed two days later on February 25 with the latest Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) House Price Index (HPI) data on single-family housing, using information provided by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The House Price Index is derived from transactions involving conforming conventional mortgages purchased or securitized by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. In contrast to other house price indexes, the sample is limited by the ceiling amount for conforming loans purchased by these government-sponsored enterprises (GSE). The loan limit in 2007 was $417,000. The limit was raised temporarily in February 2008 to as much as $729,750 in high cost areas of the country. The loan limit for 2009 was $417,000 for one-unit homes in most areas, but could be up to $625,500 in certain high cost areas in the continental United States. Mortgages insured by the FHA, VA, or other federal entities are excluded because they are not “conventional” loans. The FHFA House Price Index is a repeat transactions measure. It compares prices or appraised values for similar houses. But markets focus on the report’s purchase-only index.

On Friday February 26, the Bureau of Economic Analysis will release its GDP figures for 2009′s fourth quarter. Initial estimates for the quarter indicated annualized growth for the economy of 5.7%, reportedly the highest rate in six years.