For the sixth consecutive month, annual house price appreciation remained below 1% in January, according to First American Data & Analytics’ House Price Index (HPI) report, which tracks home price changes at the national, state and metro levels.

“January’s data suggests that house price appreciation started 2026 much the way it ended last year — subdued,” stated Mark Fleming, chief economist at First American in a press release.

Also noting that prices declined modestly on a monthly basis, Fleming commented: “The era of rapid price acceleration is long past, replaced by a market with price changes essentially flat on an annual basis.”

For buyers, that stability is meaningful, he stated, as soft price growth, combined with faster rising household incomes, continues to gradually improve affordability.

Along with the January data release, First American also revised the house price growth reported in last month’s HPI for November 2025 to December 2025. The growth was revised down by 0.07%, from negative 0.17% to negative 0.24%.

Fleming noted that price trends remain uneven across markets, but falling prices are becoming more common.

“Twenty-three of the top 30 markets posted annual price declines, compared with 20 markets that were flat or declining the month before,” he said.

Markets in the Midwest and Northeast continue to lead in price appreciation, with Warren, Mich., Cambridge, Mass., and St. Louis posting the strongest gains. Several markets in the western U.S. — including Oakland, Calif., Denver and Seattle — rank among those with the largest annual decreases.