U.S. home prices fell 6.3 percent in January from the same month last year, the government said Tuesday. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that prices rose 1.7 percent from December to January. Changes in the geographic mix of home sales explained the unexpected monthly increase, the report said. Home sales included in January's data were weighted toward regions that have performed better than average in the two-year housing-market collapse. The government index is calculated using mortgage loans bought or guaranteed by federally controlled mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The index is down 9.6 percent from its peak in April 2007.
