Guidesfrom the federal index
Which States’ Home Prices Rose Least in the Past Year? A 1-Year vs 5-Year Look
State home price change over the past year beside the five-year figure, from the FHFA index through 2026 Q2, with a Colorado purchase worked in dollars.
The FHFA House Price Index shows the smallest one-year gains in the District of Columbia, where prices fell 0.6% from 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q2, and in Colorado, Arizona, California and Washington, all up 1.0% or less. Over five years, 2021 Q2 to 2026 Q2, most of those same states are up by double digits, so the one-year figure and the five-year figure answer different questions about the same home.
Every figure on this page is FHFA's quarterly all-transactions index for the state, not seasonally adjusted, through 2026 Q2 (data pulled 2026-09-28). The US figures are from the same file: up 3.0% over the year and 41.3% over five years (7.2% a year).
The nine smallest one-year changes
The table lists the states with the smallest one-year change in that file, in order, with each state's five-year and ten-year change beside it. The one-year window is 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q2, the five-year window is 2021 Q2 to 2026 Q2, and the ten-year window is 2016 Q2 to 2026 Q2.
| State | 1 year | 5 years | 5 years, per year | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | -0.6% | +4.2% | 0.8% | +32.7% |
| Colorado | +0.2% | +25.0% | 4.6% | +85.2% |
| Arizona | +0.9% | +36.3% | 6.4% | +116.1% |
| California | +0.9% | +28.1% | 5.1% | +76.2% |
| Washington | +1.0% | +29.7% | 5.3% | +104.9% |
| Florida | +1.4% | +46.0% | 7.9% | +120.0% |
| Texas | +1.6% | +34.3% | 6.1% | +87.1% |
| Oregon | +1.7% | +23.8% | 4.4% | +80.0% |
| Georgia | +1.9% | +47.6% | 8.1% | +112.2% |
At the other end of the one-year column, Hawaii is up 8.7% and West Virginia is up 8.0% over the same window.
Why the one-year and five-year figures disagree
A change over a window is the index at the end divided by the index at the start. A one-year window and a five-year window start at different quarters, so they measure different stretches of the same series. Colorado shows the gap plainly: +0.2% over the past year, +25.0% over five years (4.6% a year).
The per-year rate for a multi-year window is a compound annual rate, so it is lower than the total change divided by the years. Washington's +29.7% over five years is 5.3% a year, not 5.9%.
FHFA measures it this way: "The FHFA HPI measures average price changes for sales or refinancings of the same properties over time" (FHFA HPI FAQ). Reading the one-year change beside a longer window shows how much of a state's recent change is the latest stretch and how much is the longer run.
A worked example
You bought a $400,000 home in Colorado at the index's 2025 Q2 level, and a second buyer paid $400,000 at the 2021 Q2 level. Apply each state window to the price: price × (1 + change).
| Purchase | Window | Colorado change | $400,000 becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 Q2 | 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q2 | +0.2% | $400,800 |
| 2021 Q2 | 2021 Q2 to 2026 Q2 | +25.0% | $500,000 |
The same price, run through two windows on the same index, lands $99,200 apart: $500,000 minus $400,800. The difference is the start date, not the area.
Run the same $400,000 through Hawaii's one-year change of +8.7% and it becomes $434,800. That is Hawaii's index over 2025 Q2 to 2026 Q2, applied to a price you would have paid at the start of that window.
These are history carried forward as arithmetic on the index. They say what the series recorded, not where it goes next.
Reading a state number against your own home
A state index averages every part of the state. Colorado's number is one figure for the whole state, and your home sits in one part of it. The smallest area with FHFA data gives the closer match: this site's FHFA snapshot holds quarterly metro indexes and annual county and 5-digit ZIP indexes. The FHFA datasets page lists each file.
What this does not cover
- The index tracks the area, not the house. A state's one-year change says nothing about the home you own.
- Renovations, condition and lot are ignored. The index follows repeat sales of properties in aggregate.
- Not every sale is in it. FHFA states that "The flagship FHFA HPI eliminates non-conforming and non-conventional mortgages when producing the index" (FHFA HPI FAQ); the all-transactions series used here adds appraisal values from refinance mortgages, so loans outside the conforming range, such as jumbo, FHA and VA loans, are not the basis of what you see.
- It is not an appraisal. Nothing here is a valuation, an offer, or advice about buying or selling.
Check your own state and start date
The Home Price Change Since Any Year tool takes a state or metro area and a start month back to 1975, and prints the two index values it divided, the per-year rate, and the same window for the state and the US. To see the one-year window above for another state, set the start to the second quarter of last year.
Sources
This guide is for informational purposes only. It is not an appraisal, and not financial, tax, lending or real-estate advice. Every estimate on this site tracks an area’s average, never a particular house. Confirm anything that matters with a licensed appraiser or your lender.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · Against the sources cited in the body.