National home price growth accelerated in July after flatlining from May to June, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) said Tuesday.

Home prices bumped up 0.3% on a monthly basis in July, pushing year-over-year price gains to 2.6%, matching levels observed a year ago, said the FHFA, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Across the nine U.S. census divisions, only the Pacific, Middle Atlantic and South Atlantic divisions posted higher growth than a year ago, though stark regional differences underscored the basis for price gains across those markets.

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The Pacific division, for example, has seen accelerated price softening and even outright declines over the past year, FHFA data indicates. As a result, the 0.7% annual growth posted in July represents an increase from already low levels and just 0.5% annual growth a year ago.

In contrast, 5.4% price growth a year ago accelerated to 6.3% annual growth across Middle Atlantic states this July. More muted gains were recorded in the South Atlantic census division, posting 1.8% annual growth in July compared to 1.1% gains a year ago.

The West North Central, Mountain and West South Central census divisions posted the largest annual declines.

High home prices and rising borrowing costs in 2026 have led to overall sluggish homebuying demand. As a result, metros with more buyer options across Southern and Sun Belt markets have seen greater downward pressure on prices.

As of June, which is historically the strongest month each year for median existing-home sales prices, listings platform Realtor.com reported that 28 of the 50 largest U.S. metros had lower asking prices than a year ago.

But national home prices demonstrated some stabilization in July, according to FHFA data.

Only two census divisions posted monthly declines in July compared to five of the nine divisions that recorded decreases from May to June. The Mountain division saw the largest monthly decline, sliding 0.8%, followed by a 0.5% decrease in East South Central states.

Middle Atlantic states posted the largest monthly gains, rising 1.5% in July, followed by 0.6% gains across Pacific markets and 0.4% monthly growth in the West North Central and West South Central census divisions.