Press releases

Homes Worth More Than Ever Before in More Than a Quarter of U.S. Housing Markets

Steady home value growth has allowed many housing markets to eclipse previous records set during the housing bubble, even in the hard-hit South and North Central regions

-- Median home values in more than a quarter of the nation's metro housing markets are currently, or were recently, as high as they've ever been, exceeding previous records set at the top of the housing bubble.

-- Housing markets in the North Central region were the most likely to have recently reached record highs.

-- In February, home values rose 4.3 percent year-over-year to a Zillow Home Value Index of $184,600.

Mar 25, 2016

SEATTLE, March 25, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Homes were worth more than ever before in 26 percent of U.S. housing marketsi, indicating those markets are close to a full recovery, according to the February Zillow® Real Estate Market Reportsii.

Over the past year, housing markets in the South, especially Texas and Tennessee, have joined Western housing markets blowing past their previous median home value highs. Dallas home values set a new record at $180,700 in February, up 13.7 percent from last February. Louisville, KY values rose 13.2 percent to $146,100, and Nashville home values rose 9.5 percent to a median of $189,100.

The national Zillow Home Value Indexiii was $184,600 in February, 5.9 percent below the record median home value set in mid-2007.

The record-high prices, combined with low inventory, make it difficult to buy a home in many markets, especially for renters trying to save for a down payment amongst historically high rental costs.

Median home values in hot Western markets such as Denver and San Jose continued to zoom past previous highs with double-digit growth, but other markets have more quietly surpassed their previous peaks and continue to grow.

Many experts surveyed in the November 2015 Zillow Home Price Expectations Surveyiv said they are concerned homes in San Francisco, Seattle, San Diego, and Los Angeles are overvalued and approaching bubble conditions.

"These new records mean we're no longer making up ground lost during the housing recession --we're laying a new path forward, based on demand for housing and economic growth throughout the economy" said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "In some markets, these new highs are a return to normalcy. The fact that other markets are still off by double digits may not mean those markets are far from being recovered. It just highlights how extraordinarily inflated home values had been during the housing bubble." 

The Zillow Rent Indexv continued to rise in February, but at a slower rate, as new construction provided much-needed supply to rental markets. Of the top 35 metros, only San Francisco saw double digit rent appreciation, on an annual basis, at 10.5 percent.

Rents are rising at 2.6 percent year-over-year, which is in-line with income growth expectations for the year. The Zillow Rent Forecastvi indicates rent will continue to slow significantly over the next year.

Metro

 Feb. 2016
Zillow Home
Value Index

YoY Home Value
Change

Percent From
All-Time High

Zillow Rent Index

United States

$         184,600

4.3%

-5.9%

$           1,383

New York/Northern New Jersey

$         383,900

2.2%

-13.9%

$           2,401

Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

$         561,000

6.1%

-8.1%

$           2,507

Chicago, IL

$         193,500

3.2%

-21.3%

$           1,631

Dallas-Fort Worth, TX

$         180,700

13.7%

0.0%

$           1,506

Philadelphia, PA

$         203,900

1.6%

-12.4%

$           1,554

Houston, TX

$         170,800

6.6%

0.0%

$           1,575

Washington, DC

$         358,700

0.6%

-16.9%

$           2,110

Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL

$         228,800

10.5%

-25.4%

$           1,838

Atlanta, GA

$         162,300

6.4%

-6.6%

$           1,280

Boston, MA

$         387,400

5.9%

0.0%

$           2,250

San Francisco, CA

$         792,600

10.9%

0.0%

$           3,350

Detroit, MI

$         122,600

6.5%

-22.0%

$           1,143

Riverside, CA

$         300,400

6.0%

-25.5%

$           1,695

Phoenix, AZ

$         218,300

8.1%

-21.1%

$           1,257

Seattle, WA

$         373,000

9.4%

-1.9%

$           1,946

Minneapolis-St Paul, MN

$         218,600

4.5%

-9.7%

$           1,501

San Diego, CA

$         503,400

5.8%

-6.5%

$           2,338

St. Louis, MO

$         141,500

6.0%

-11.0%

$           1,123

Tampa, FL

$         163,000

9.2%

-25.3%

$           1,301

Baltimore, MD

$         245,200

2.0%

-15.4%

$           1,713

Denver, CO

$         326,300

14.5%

0.0%

$           1,959

Pittsburgh, PA

$         125,700

0.9%

-0.1%

$           1,098

Portland, OR

$         315,800

13.4%

0.0%

$           1,699

Charlotte, NC

$         159,000

5.0%

0.0%

$           1,220

Sacramento, CA

$         335,700

8.2%

-20.3%

$           1,608

San Antonio, TX

$         148,800

6.3%

0.0%

$           1,297

Orlando, FL

$         183,200

7.8%

-29.5%

$           1,345

Cincinnati, OH

$         142,900

3.9%

-0.9%

$           1,221

Cleveland, OH

$         124,800

2.3%

-13.4%

$           1,114

Kansas City, MO

$         147,500

6.0%

-7.5%

$           1,212

Las Vegas, NV

$         201,900

9.0%

-33.8%

$           1,210

Columbus, OH

$         152,300

4.7%

0.0%

$           1,270

Indianapolis, IN

$         130,400

3.3%

-6.8%

$           1,181

San Jose, CA

$         938,700

11.4%

0.0%

$           3,453

Austin, TX

$         245,500

9.0%

0.0%

$           1,686

About Zillow

Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the biannual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

i These markets reached new peak levels during 2015 or 2016.

ii The Zillow Real Estate Market Reports are a monthly overview of the national and local real estate markets. The reports are compiled by Zillow Real Estate Research. For more information, visit www.zillow.com/research/. The data in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports are aggregated from public sources by a number of data providers for 928 metropolitan and micropolitan areas dating back to 1996. Mortgage and home loan data are typically recorded in each county and publicly available through a county recorder's office. All current monthly data at the national, state, metro, city, ZIP code and neighborhood level can be accessed at www.zillow.com/local-info/ and www.zillow.com/research/data.

iii The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is the median estimated home value for a given geographic area on a given day and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. It is expressed in dollars, and seasonally adjusted.

iv This edition of the Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey surveyed 108 experts between November 5th and November 23rd, 2015 about their expectations for the housing market. The survey was conducted by Pulsenomics LLC on behalf of Zillow, Inc.

v The Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) is the median Rent Zestimate® (estimated monthly rental price) for a given geographic area on a given day, and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums, cooperatives and apartments in Zillow's database, regardless of whether they are currently listed for rent. It is expressed in dollars.

vi The Zillow Rent Index forecast is based on recent and historical trends in rents, and is calculated using ARIMA times series models. It is adjusted to account for seasonality and geographic consistency.

 

SOURCE Zillow

For further information: Emily Heffter, Zillow, press@zillow.com