U.S. Home Values Jump the Most Since 2006, Zillow Says
By Prashant Gopal - Oct 23, 2012 12:01 AM ET.
U.S. home values jumped 1.3 percent in the third quarter, the biggest gain since 2006, in an uneven recovery across the country, Zillow Inc. (Z) said.
The median value rose to $153,800 from $151,800 in the previous three months on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Seattle-based property-data company said in a report today. It was the biggest increase in Zillow’s Home Value Index since the first quarter of 2006, when values rose 1.5 percent.
Home prices are rising nationally as the U.S. unemployment rate declines and buyers compete for a tightening supply of homes listed for sale. Still, values fell from the second quarter in 52 percent of markets covered by the index as the traditional homebuying season ended, according to Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries.
“The housing market is on the mend, but the housing bottom will be a protracted one,” he said in a telephone interview. “We will see more muted appreciation in the near term before we get back to normal appreciation trends.”
In Phoenix, where investor demand is helping to boost prices, home values rose the most of the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas, with a 5.9 percent increase from the second quarter, according to Zillow. They climbed 3.9 percent in Las Vegas and 3.8 percent in Denver, Zillow said.
Atlanta had the biggest drop in values, falling 2.2 percent from the previous three months, the data show. New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis and Cleveland were among other large metro areas where values declined.
more:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-23/u-s-home-values-jump-the-most-since-2006-zillow-says.html
DO SOMETHING!
| 