U.S. home values hit bottom, turn back up: Zillow

Source: Housingwire

Home values in the U.S. reached their bottom in recent months and are gradually rising again, according to a new report from Zillow. The real estate data provider said its second-quarter Real Estate Market Report shows prices rising on an annual basis for the first time in five years. In fact, the firm's price index edged up 0.2% over last year in the second quarter with the average sales price hitting $149,300. Zillow claims values rose for four consecutive months in a row. In the U.S., one-third of the metros surveyed, or 53 of 167 markets, saw annual price increases. The largest jump occurred in Phoenix, where prices rose 12.1% from a year earlier in 2Q. "After four months with rising home values and increasingly positive forecast data, it seems clear that the country has hit a bottom in home values," said Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "The housing recovery is holding together despite lower-than-expected job growth, indicating that it has some organic strength of its own." About 67 markets are expected to see increases in price values over the course of the next year, according to Zillow's Home Value Forecast. Again, one of the markets expected to see steep growth is Phoenix with the forecast estimating price gains of 9.9%. Foreclosures in the second quarter fell with only 5.8 out of every 10,000 homes lost to foreclosure in June, Zillow said. The data firm claims foreclosures have been on the decline since January when 7.9 out of every 10,000 homes were lost to foreclosure. "This number is expected to increase in the future, as foreclosure starts have increased since the completion of the National Foreclosure Settlement," Zillow said. Foreclosure re-sales also fell from 18.8% of all sales in February to 15.6% in June.

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