All-Transactions House Price Index — New York State, 1975–2025
Quarterly FHFA house price index for New York State, tracking 50 years of residential real estate appreciation — relevant context for understanding the economic environment around the Met’s audience, donors, and workforce.
Summary
The dataset contains 204 quarterly observations of the FHFA All-Transactions House Price Index (HPI) for New York State, from Q1 1975 through Q4 2025. Each row is one quarter. The index is normalized to 100.00 at Q1 1980, making that the base period for comparing values across time. This is a statewide index (not NYC-specific), capturing trends across all of New York — though NYC and its suburbs dominate the state’s housing market weight.
Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), distributed via FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). The FHFA All-Transactions HPI uses data from mortgage transactions on single-family properties.
Key Findings
- Long-run appreciation is dramatic: From 78.05 in Q1 1975 to 1,150.44 in Q4 2025 — a 1,374% increase in nominal index terms over 50 years.
- From the 1980 base: The index has grown 1,050% since Q1 1980 (index = 100), meaning New York homes are nominally worth more than 11× their 1980 value.
- The post-COVID surge is the sharpest in the dataset’s history: The largest single-quarter gain on record was Q2 2022 (+48.4 points), followed by Q3 2021 (+39.7), Q1 2024 (+38.4), and Q1 2025 (+36.7). The 2020–2025 period saw steeper gains than any comparable 5-year window in the record.
- The 2007–2009 financial crisis produced the deepest sustained drops: The five largest quarter-over-quarter declines all occurred between Q3 2007 and Q3 2009, with Q3 2008 the single worst quarter (−16.4 points).
- Decade snapshots (Q1 of each decade):
| Year | HPI |
|---|---|
| 1975 | 78.1 |
| 1980 | 100.0 (base) |
| 1985 | 175.3 |
| 1990 | 285.5 |
| 1995 | 273.2 |
| 2000 | 334.2 |
| 2005 | 564.5 |
| 2010 | 570.8 |
| 2015 | 579.7 |
| 2020 | 712.0 |
| 2025 | 1,092.3 |
Data Table
Condensed view — annual Q1 snapshots plus recent quarters:
| Date | HPI | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 Q1 | 78.1 | Series start |
| 1980 Q1 | 100.0 | Base period |
| 1990 Q1 | 285.5 | Post-80s boom peak |
| 1995 Q1 | 273.2 | Post-recession trough |
| 2000 Q1 | 334.2 | Pre-bubble |
| 2008 Q1 | 633.5 | Pre-crisis peak |
| 2010 Q1 | 570.8 | Post-crisis low |
| 2020 Q1 | 712.0 | Pre-COVID |
| 2022 Q1 | 870.6 | Post-COVID surge begins |
| 2023 Q1 | 934.3 | |
| 2024 Q1 | 1,014.0 | Crossed 1,000 for first time |
| 2024 Q4 | 1,082.5 | |
| 2025 Q1 | 1,092.3 | |
| 2025 Q4 | 1,150.4 | Series end (most recent) |
Open Questions
- Why is this in the Met Opera folder? The connection isn’t explicit in the source file. Possible uses: (1) context for understanding donor wealth and NYC real estate appreciation, (2) audience affordability analysis — can Met audiences still afford to live in/near the city?, (3) comparison to Met ticket price or fundraising trends over the same period, (4) workforce housing context — can artists and staff afford NYC?
- Is there a complementary NYC-specific index (Manhattan, the five boroughs) that would be more precise for Met-related analysis? The statewide FHFA index includes Buffalo and upstate markets.
- How does the NY HPI trend compare to Met ticket prices or subscription revenue over the same period? A chart overlaying both could be revealing.