U.S. house prices rose 0.9% from April to May on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Federal Housing Finance Agency's monthly pricing index shows.

The agency, which regulates Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and the nation's network of Federal Home Loan Banks, said house prices for the year ended in May are down 5.6%. It revised its April index downward to show a 0.3% drop in house prices, a change from the initially reported 0.1% decline.

The agency uses the purchase prices of houses backing mortgages sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to calculate the index.

-By Meena Thiruvengadam, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6629; meena.thiruvengadam@dowjones.com