O'ahu single-family home values may have been a bit stronger than local home resale data indicated in the fourth quarter of last year, according to a federal report.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight said single-family home prices in the October-December period rose 4.5 percent on O'ahu and 2 percent statewide compared with the same quarter in 2006.

The report released yesterday is based on sale or refinancing values of homes during the quarter compared with sale or refinancing values for the same properties a year earlier.

Because of the same-home methodology, the data represent relatively few transactions, but some view OFHEO price measures as a better representation of inherent property values than local Realtor association reports that compile median sale prices.

A median price is a point at which half the sales are for more and half for less. While a fairly useful measure, median prices are influenced by differences in the mix of homes — such as a greater preponderance of older and smaller homes or newer and bigger homes.

This is one reason why some observers question how accurately median resale figures reflect home values.

But the O'ahu home value changes in the OFHEO report were higher than a fourth-quarter report by the Honolulu Board of Realtors that said median single-family home prices were up 0.9 percent to $625,300.

Both the OFHEO and Honolulu Board of Realtors reports said home prices declined from the third quarter to the fourth quarter — 0.6 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

The slight quarter-to-quarter dip reported by OFHEO was the first such decline last year for O'ahu after gains of 1.6 percent in the third quarter, 0.7 in the second quarter and 2.7 percent in the first quarter.

For the state, OFHEO said Hawai'i home prices from the third quarter to the fourth quarter declined 0.8 percent. That followed a 0.1 percent decline in the third quarter, a 1 percent gain in the second quarter and a 1.7 percent gain in the first quarter.

One constraint in the OFHEO report is that it's limited to homes bought with conforming mortgages purchased or backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, which excludes a significant part of the market financed by subprime and jumbo loans.

Nationally, OFHEO said home prices were up 0.1 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, and up 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter from the same quarter a year earlier.

In the year-over-year change, 28 states had stronger price gains than Hawai'i's 2 percent increase. Utah posted the biggest gain at about 9.3 percent. The worst state was California with a nearly 6.7 percent decrease.

Out of 291 metropolitan areas, Honolulu, or O'ahu, ranked 56th best with its 4.5 percent year-over-year change. The strongest market was Wenatchee, Wash., with a 13.7 percent increase. The worst market was Merced, Calif., with a 19 percent decline.

Reach Andrew Gomes at agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com.