The FHFA index, for example, has a relatively shallow peak-to-trough decline of -20%.

The reason is that it is constructed from data on sales of homes backed by conventional (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac) mortgages only, and thus excludes homes backed by subprime and other non-conventional mortgages. To the extent that homes with non-conventional mortgages have experienced a more pronounced boom and bust, this will lead the FHFA index to show less depreciation than the Case-Shiller index and other indices based on transactions of both homes backed by conventional mortgages and homes backed by non-conventional mortgages or no mortgages at all. o Other sources of difference between the FHFA and Case-Shiller indices include weighting methodologies (the FHFA index is unit weighted, and the Case-Shiller index value weighted), o and geographic coverage (the FHFA index is a broad national index, while the CaseShiller 20-city index covers only the largest metro areas, which are known to have generally underperformed the nation's smaller metro areas during the downturn). The Zillow index, which also shows less distress than the Case-Shiller 20-city index, similarly has a broader geographic coverage, and is unit-weighted rather than value-weighted. As a result, the Zillow index also puts less weight than the Case-Shiller index on the areas which were relatively high-cost (California, Florida) but subsequently suffered large house price declines, leading to a milder measured decline in the Zillow series than in the Case-Shiller index. One outlier series is the NAR median sales price, which shows a +3% growth rate from March 2011 to March 2012, and an even more impressive 8% growth rate from June 2011 to June 2012. The difference between the NAR index and the other indices may be coming from changes in the mix of homes sold (e.g., from smaller properties toward larger properties). Such a mix change will increase the median price of homes sold, but will be factored out of repeat sales indices, including Case-Shiller, which are based on transactions on the same property and attempt to represent a "constant-quality" measure of home price.