BuilderOnline.com Median home values are reaching new peaks in more than half of the nation's largest housing markets.

"The housing market as a whole is moving at a steady clip, with high demand and low inventory combining to maintain strong home value appreciation," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Most new construction has been at the higher end of the market, so demand for the limited supply of entry-level homes is pushing up their values, but these homes also lost more value when the bubble burst.

The median home value in the U.S. rose 6.9% over the last year to a Zillow Home Value Index of $201,900. Seattle is the only major U.S. market where home values rose at a double-digit annual pace, up 12.4% since last August to a median home value of $453,100. Tampa home values rose 9.3%, and the median home is worth $187,400.


* Statistics from BuilderOnline.com

Annual rent appreciation grew for the fourth consecutive month, with rents increasing 1.9% from last August to a Zillow Rent Index of $1,430.

Limited inventory leaves few options for buyers. Nationally there were 12.6% fewer homes available in August 2017 than there were in August 2016. San Jose and San Diego saw the biggest annual declines in inventory, down 59.4% and 37.2% respectively.

Mortgage rates on Zillow ended August at 3.62%, near the lowest level of the month. Rates moved steadily lower throughout the month after starting at a high of 3.72% 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.

By: BuilderOnline.com
Posted: September 21 2017