The paper discusses the impact of distressed sales on recent estimates of house price changes in California. Using information from Notice of Default (NOD) filings in that state, the paper compares the usual FHFA HPI against an index computed after removing sales occurring after NOD filings. The...

Trends in residential house values can be expressed by changes in House Price Indexes (HPIs). HPIs are based on observed prices and help guide real estate activities. Since the recent housing crash, distressed sales have increased in numbers and have led to concerns about their effects on market...