Median U.S. Home is $12,500 More Valuable Today than a Year Ago

SEATTLE, Nov. 22, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Home values are setting new records, and homes are gaining thousands of dollars in value every month. The national median home value is $12,500 more than it was just one year ago, according to the October Zillow® Real Estate Market Reportⁱ.

More than half of the nation's largest markets are worth more than they were prior to the onset of the Great Recession. Home values in San Jose, Calif. gained the most in value over the last year, with homes worth 12.3 percent more than they were in October 2016, which translates to a $118,200 increase. Seattle – 11.7 percent – and Las Vegas – 11.2 percent – also saw double-digit home value appreciation over the past year.

Limited housing supply and heavy demand continue to play a role in driving up home prices. There are 11.7 percent fewer homes for sale in the U.S. than a year ago. Inventory has dropped most significantly in San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego over the past year. In San Jose, there are 60.4 percent fewer homes on the market than at this time last year. In San Francisco and San Diego there are 32 and 31 percent fewer homes fewer homes for sale, respectively.

"We are in the midst of an inventory crisis that shows no signs of waning, impacting potential buyers all across the country," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Home values are growing at a historically fast pace, and those potential buyers want to get in the market while they still can. But with homes gaining so much value in just one year, buyers – especially first-time buyers – have to set aside more and more money for a down payment just to keep up with them. Unfortunately, there's just not enough homes for sale, and demand will continue to drive prices higher until we reach a better balance between supply and demand."

Annual rent appreciation grew for the sixth consecutive month, with rents increasing 2.2 percent from last October to a Zillow Rent Indexⁱⁱ of $1,432.

Mortgage ratesⁱⁱⁱ on Zillow ended the month of October at 3.73 percent. Rates reached a monthly high of 3.82 percent near the end of the month, and the lowest rate of the month was 3.68 percent. Zillow's real-time mortgage rates are based on thousands of custom mortgage quotes submitted daily to anonymous borrowers on the Zillow Mortgages site and reflect the most recent changes in the market.

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. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

ⁱ 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.
ⁱⁱ 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. 
ⁱⁱⁱ Mortgage rates for a 30-year fixed mortgage
^iv 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.

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SOURCE Zillow