Taylor Scott International News
More than a quarter of homes across the United States lost value over the past year, despite the ongoing housing market recovery, according to the latest real estate market report. Some markets have already surpassed home values reached at the height of the housing bubble, while other markets are struggling to leave the recession behind, the analysis from real estate firm Zillow shows. Nationally, homes appreciated 3.3% from a year ago, rising to a Zillow Home Value Index of $180,800. However, the national growth rate has levelled off over the past five months, suggesting the housing recovery is ending and the market is returning to normal. Overall some 27.9% of homes lost value over the past year. Before the housing market crashed, an average of 21.2% of homes were losing value and in December 2008 some 81.6% of homes lost value, the highest amount during the recession. Markets on the East Coast and in the Midwest had the highest share of homes that lost value, led by 48.1% of homes in Baltimore which saw prices fall over the past year. Philadelphia with 43.4% and Washington DC at 41.2% also had large shares of homes losing value. Conversely, few homes lost value in hot markets like Denver, Dallas, San Jose, and San Francisco, which all saw double digit home value growth over the past year. Just 1.5% of homes in Denver and 4% in Dallas were worth less in August 2015 than they were a year ago. ‘We're not going in reverse, but we are hitting the brakes a bit in some markets. It's easy to say the recession is over when a third of the biggest markets are more expensive now than ever before, but we're still seeing a number of homes losing value. The reality is there are still areas lagging behind in the recovery,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell The report suggests that renters looking to become home owners may find more opportunities in slower markets like Philadelphia. According to the January 2015 Zillow Housing Confidence Index when home values there were growing at 2.8% annually, eight percent of renters in the area said they planned to buy within a year. This jumped to 18% in the most recent survey, when home value growth was nearly flat at 0.3%. The index data also shows that rents are still growing faster than home values. The Zillow Rent Index rose 3.8% on an annual basis to $1,381, giving potential buyers another reason to consider entering the market. Taylor Scott International
Taylor Scott International, Taylor Scott
