Amid ongoing discussions about housing affordability, federal regulators published information about states where home prices have seen the most significant increases over the past year. Learn more about this and other topics in this roundup:
FHFA reports home price increases
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported that house prices jumped by 4 percent from the first quarter of 2024 to the first quarter of 2025, with a 0.7 percent increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. The FHFA’s seasonally adjusted monthly index for March 2025 showed a slight decrease of 0.1 percent from February 2025. Nationally, the housing market has experienced positive annual appreciation each quarter since the start of 2012, according to the agency. The five states with the highest annual appreciation were Rhode Island (11.4 percent), West Virginia (9.3 percent), Connecticut (9 percent), Ohio (7.6 percent) and Wyoming (7.4 percent). Meanwhile, home prices in Hawaii fell by 2.2 percent. Find more home price statistics here.
SEC commissioner issues statement on crypto asset confusion
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Carolina Crenshaw issued a statement asserting the need for the SEC’s Crypto Task Force to provide better clarity regarding regulatory considerations for digital assets, including cryptocurrencies. “In the name of this clarity, we’ve seen staff statement after staff statement, pronouncing that all sorts of crypto assets are not securities,” Crenshaw said. “And yet, now we see no objection to the effectiveness of new exchange-traded funds that assert certain crypto assets — ETH and SOL — actually are securities. Does this commission, in fact, believe that ETH and SOL are securities?” Read her full statement on the matter here.
NCUA seeks feedback on strategic plan, budget
National Credit Union Administration Chair Kyle Hauptman announced the agency is seeking input from stakeholders about the agency’s operations and initiatives to help in the development of the NCUA’s 2026–2030 Strategic Plan and its 2026-2027 budget. “Tell us what’s overly burdensome, what could be done better or quicker, and what do you think NCUA is doing that is not creating value,” Hauptman said in a press release. Stakeholders can email submissions to [email protected]. Read more here.
OCC appoints deputy comptroller for community, industry relations
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently tapped Andrew Moss to serve as the agency’s deputy comptroller for community and industry relations. Effective June 2, Moss will oversee the division previously named “Community Affairs,” with community development professionals located in Washington, D.C., and who provide expertise, guidance and educational resources, and organize outreach on community development lending, services, investments, and related issues in support of the OCC’s mission, according to an agency press release. Learn more here.