SEATTLE, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Home buyers who "moved up" in the recent past may find their new investment has "moved down" over the past year, while neighbors in cozy cottages have held on to their value better in the face of a nationwide decline. Similarly, condo owners experienced a sharp decline in home values in Q2. This data is according to Zillow.com, which today released its quarterly home value reports for the U.S. and 66 metropolitan areas.

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Nationwide, values for all homes are down 2.8 percent year-over-year and are relatively flat quarter-over-quarter (0.1%), with a U.S. Zindex™ home value indicator of $251,588. But, when broken out by size, differences in value become very evident.

Midsized and large homes -- which include the U.S. average 1,500 square-foot residence -- showed the steepest declines among single-family residences, with values down 3.1 percent and 2.8 percent year-over-year, respectively. Small homes declined just one percent in the same period. In this analysis, large single-family homes are defined as those with more than 1,900 square feet, midsized homes are 1,200-1,900 square feet, and a small home is defined as less than 1,200 square feet.

Similarly, condo values dropped 5.2 percent year-over-year, with a Zindex home value indicator of $238,721. Condo owners in parts of Florida and California's Central Valley experienced the sharpest drops -- between 10 and 14 percent compared to Q2 2006.

"The U.S. real estate market still appears quite anemic, at best, with many markets still doing poorly, especially those in South Florida and Southern California," said Stan Humphries, Zillow's vice president of data and analytics. "The one ray of hope this period is that we've not seen another quarter-over-quarter decline as we've experienced for the past two quarters. The significantly poorer performance of condos and larger single-family homes suggests that prices for these housing sectors are still not in accord with current demand."

The difference in market appreciation isn't limited to home size or type. In addition to comparing performance across home types, the report compares the Zindex home value indicator across 66 different metropolitan regions. According to the report, California (including most major cities in the Central Valley and Southern regions) and Florida (Central, South and Gulf Coast) experienced larger year-over-year declines than most of the country. Most cities in the Pacific Northwest continue to buck the national trend and are still experiencing marked appreciation year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter.

A full comparison of 66 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) can be found in Zillow's national Q2 2007 Home Value report, at http://www.zillow.com/quarterlies/QuarterlyReports.htm. Zillow has also released individual reports for each MSA broken out by county, city, ZIP code and neighborhood.

Some other interesting findings from the national report include:

Highest-appreciating metropolitan areas (year-over-year):
-- Grand Junction, Colo. (18.6%)
-- Corvallis, Ore. (11.2%)
-- Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC (9.0%)
-- Eugene-Springfield, Ore. (6.9%)
-- Spokane, Wash. (6.1%)
-- Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash. (5.3%)

Most-depreciating metropolitan areas (year-over-year):
-- Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. (-16.4%)
-- Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Fla. (-14.3%)
-- Stockton-Lodi, Calif. (-13.5%)
-- Charleston-North Charleston, SC (-12.8%)
-- Daytona Beach, Fla. (-12.5%)
-- Modesto, Calif. (-12.4%)

Most expensive metropolitan areas (measured by Zindex):
-- San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif. ($685,653)
-- Honolulu, Hawaii ($632,270)
-- San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, Calif. ($537,722)
-- Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif. ($525,175)
-- San Diego, Calif. ($505,334)
-- New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island ($445,435)

Least expensive metropolitan areas (measured by Zindex):
-- Jackson, Tenn. ($91,563)
-- Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC ($101,178)
-- Tulsa, Okla. ($102,876)
-- Dayton-Springfield, Ohio ($108,121)
-- Rockford, Ill. ($116,475)
-- Columbia, SC ($116,865)

The Zindex home value indicator is the median Zestimate™ valuation for a given geographic area on a given day, and includes the value of all homes, not just those that sold in a given period. Exactly half the Zestimates for a region are below this number, and half the Zestimates are above it. It is expressed in dollars and is for a particular geographic region.

To view the full national or local reports, visit http://www.zillow.com/quarterlies/QuarterlyReports.htm. Or, for ongoing commentary on home value conditions and other real estate news, visit http://www.zillowblog.com/. Also new this quarter, Zillow has added neighborhood pages, which include demographic information, photos and forums available at the city and neighborhood level. You can access these neighborhood pages from any of the 70 million home detail pages or from the bottom of any page on Zillow.com by clicking "Local Real Estate."

About Zillow.com®

Zillow.com® is an online real estate community where homeowners, buyers, sellers, and real estate agents and professionals can find and share vital information about homes, for free. Launched in early 2006 with Zestimate™ values and data on millions of U.S. homes, Zillow has since "opened up" the site to community input, data and dialogue, including Home Q&A. Zillow's goal is to help people become smarter about real estate -- what homes are worth, what's for sale, and what local experts have to say about real estate and individual homes. One of the most-visited real estate Web sites, Zillow was the only online company named by Advertising Age magazine to its 2006 "Marketing 50" list of the most powerful consumer brands. Zillow is headquartered in Seattle and has raised $57 million in funding.

Zillow.com, Zillow, Zestimate and Zindex are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

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SOURCE: Zillow.com

CONTACT: Amanda Hoffman of Zillow.com, +1-206-470-7167,
press@zillow.com

Web site: http://www.zillow.com/
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