SEATTLE, Sept. 22, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. home values are up 5 percent over the past year, to a Zillow Home Value Indexⁱ (ZHVI) of $188,100, according to the August Zillow® Real Estate Market Reportsⁱⁱ.

Home values have been growing at a 5 percent annual rate since the beginning of the year. The most recent income data released by the Censusⁱⁱⁱ shows incomes rising by 5.2 percent, which is good news for those looking to break into the housing market. For the first time since 2011, incomes have been appreciating faster than home values.

Inventory is beginning to pick back up from the lows experienced at the beginning of the year, but there are still 5 percent fewer homes for sale than a year ago. Going forward, as more homes start to become available, home value growth may ease. Zillow predicts home value growth to slow down to a 2.7 percent appreciation rate by this time next year.

For the sixth straight month, Portland, Dallas, Seattle and Denver reported the highest year-over-year home value appreciation among the 35 largest U.S. metros, with home value growth in the double-digits. In Portland, home values rose almost 15 percent, to a median home value of $338,900.

While home values continue to rise in tech-centers San Francisco and San Jose, they've slowed considerably since last year. Median home values in both markets are up about 6 percent over the past year, compared to over 12 percent in 2015. No longer are these two metros among the top appreciating U.S. housing markets.

"The housing market is starting to smooth out ever-so-slightly, as the peak home shopping season winds down," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "This is good news for frenzied buyers tired of tight inventory, rapidly rising home prices and intense competition. Inventory, while still down nationwide and in most areas, is actually starting to rise in a handful of markets, including the Bay Area, Texas and parts of the Southwest. Rent growth has slowed considerably from just a few years ago, giving renters a chance to save enough to buy a home. But make no mistake, it's still tough out there for buyers, especially in Western markets like Seattle, Denver and Portland that have strong job growth. Things won't switch from a sellers' market to a buyers' market overnight, but conditions are starting to improve."

Rents continue to rise, though not as quickly as home values. Last year at this time, rents were up over 6 percent, but are now appreciating by just 1.7 percent, to a Zillow Rent Index^iv (ZRI) of $1,405.

Of the 35 largest U.S. metros, Seattle, Portland, Sacramento and San Diego reported the highest year-over-year rent appreciation. Rents in Seattle have seen the fastest annual appreciation for the third month in a row, up almost 10 percent over the past year to a median of $2,067 per month.

In Portland, the median rent rose to $1,777 per month, up 7 percent over the past year. In Sacramento and San Diego, rents are up 5.5 and 5 percent, respectively.

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 bi-annual 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 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.
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 Data released by The Census Current Population Survey/Annual March Socioeconomic Supplement shows household incomes appreciated by 5.2 percent in 2015.
^iv 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.

SOURCE Zillow