---
kind: "section"
citation: "12 U.S.C. § 4542"
title: "12"
title_heading: "Banks and Banking"
number: "4542"
heading: "Housing Price Index"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/12/4542"
units:
  - "Chapter 46 — Government Sponsored Enterprises"
  - "Subchapter I — Supervision and Regulation of Enterprises"
  - "Part B — Additional Authorities of the Director"
  - "Subpart 1 — general authority"
---

# §4542. Housing Price Index


The [Director](/usc/12/4502.md?p=9) shall establish and maintain a method of assessing the national average 1-family house price for use for adjusting the conforming loan limitations of the [enterprises](/usc/12/4502.md?p=10). In establishing such method, the [Director](/usc/12/4502.md?p=9) shall take into consideration the monthly survey of all major lenders conducted by the Federal Housing Finance [Agency](/usc/12/4502.md?p=2) to determine the national average 1-family house price, the House Price Index maintained by the Office of Federal Housing [Enterprise](/usc/12/4502.md?p=10) Oversight of the Department of Housing and Urban Development before the effective date of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, any appropriate house price indexes of the [Bureau](/usc/12/5481.md?p=2) of the Census of the Department of Commerce, and any other indexes or measures that the [Director](/usc/12/4502.md?p=9) considers appropriate.


## Source credit

(Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1322, as added Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1124(d), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2693.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### References in Text

The effective date of the Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008, referred to in text, probably means the date of enactment of div. A of Pub. L. 110–289, which was approved July 30, 2008.

### Prior Provisions

A prior section 4542, Pub. L. 102–550, title XIII, § 1322, Oct. 28, 1992, 106 Stat. 3953, related to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development’s prior approval authority for new programs, prior to repeal by Pub. L. 110–289, div. A, title I, § 1121(2), July 30, 2008, 122 Stat. 2689.