Zillow Calls Bottom for Home Values

Index based on ‘Zestimates’ shows first year-over-year quarterly gain since 2005

By Inman News, Tuesday, July 24, 2012

U.S. home values eked out their first year-over-year quarterly gain in five years during the second quarter of 2007, according to a report released today by online real estate marketplace Zillow.

Zillow’s second quarter real estate market report showed median home values up 0.2 percent at the end of June compared to a year ago, to $149,300. The report also showed median home values have posted four consecutive months of year-over-year gains.

“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 Stan Humphries in a statement.

The Phoenix metro continued its leadership among U.S. metros with a 12.1 percent year-over-year median home value increase to $136,200 in the quarter anding June 30.

The Fort Myers, Fla., metro area took the second place spot with a 7.9 percent median home value increase for the quarter from last year to $136,000.

The Green Bay, Wisc., metro area, with a 6.6 percent jump in median home values to $131,700, rounded out the top three.

Among the top 10 metros for annual price gains, all but one — Denver, at $211,300 — had index values well below the June U.S. median existing-home price of $189,400, as reported by the National Association of Realtors earlier this month. The Zillow Home Value Index average for all 10 was $130,090.

Of the 167 metros Zillow tracks, 53 showed increases in estimated median home values from the second quarter of 2011.

The Zillow Home Value Index is built from automated valuation estimates (“Zestimates”) generated by Zillow for single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. At the national level, the Zillow Home Value Index reflects the median Zestimate of all homes in the U.S. expressed in dollars.

The Zillow Rent Index, launched in March and an additional component of Zillow’s real estate market report, shows a U.S.-wide 5.2 percent year-over-year increase to $1,276 from a year ago.

See the top 10 metros for year-over-year percentage median home value increase below.