- While some markets have surpassed home values reached at the height of the housing bubble, others are still struggling to leave the recession behind.
- Nearly 27.9 percent of homes lost value last year, Zillow said.
- Homes on the East Coast and in the Midwest are struggling the most, but some hot markets saw double-digit home value growth over the past year.
“It’s easy to say the recession is over when a third of the biggest markets are more expensive now than ever before,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell, but the truth is the housing market recovery has yet to hit some markets.
In discussing Zillow’s release of its August Real Estate Market Report, Gudell noted that while some markets have surpassed home values reached at the height of the housing bubble, others are still struggling to leave the recession behind.
Nearly 27.9 percent of homes last year, to put a number on it, Zillow said. Looking at the entire nation, homes appreciated only 3.3 percent from a year ago, rising to an average of $180,800.
“We’re not going in reverse, but we are hitting the brakes a bit in some markets,” Gudell said. “We’re still seeing a number of homes losing value.”
By comparison, before the housing market crashed, an average of about 21 percent of homes were losing value. At the height of the collapse, 81.6 percent of homes lost value.
“We’re not going in reverse, but we are hitting the brakes a bit in some markets.” – Dr. Svenja Gudell, Zillow Chief Economist
But those are national figures. According to Zillow’s report, home value changes vary greatly across certain markets. Homes on the East Coast and in the Midwest are struggling the most, with 48.1 percent of Baltimore homes, 43.4 percent of Philadelphia homes and 41.2 percent of Washington, D.C., homes losing the most value.
According to Zillow’s Home Value Index, the average values of homes in those cities in August were: Baltimore, $240,400; Philadelphia, $162,000; and Washington, D.C., $358,000.
At the same time, Zillow said some hot markets saw double-digit home value growth over the past year. Since the same period last year, Denver home values rose 16.3 percent to $308,600; Dallas values rose 13.8 percent to $168,000; San Jose, Calif., values rose 12.5 percent to $904,000; and San Francisco values rose 11.8 percent to $764,600, according to Zillow.
