U.S. annual home value appreciation in July rose by 0.4 percent to 6 percent, according to a to a Zillow® Home Value Index of $161,600, which represents the 14th month of continuous appreciation and the highest rate since 2006.
Twenty out of the past 21 months have seen home values rise – since the U.S. market bottomed in October 2011.
73.5 percent of the 393 metropolitan areas covered in July experienced month-over-month appreciation, and 71.1 percent experienced annual appreciation. These areas are expected to continue showing appreciation over the next year.
The areas with the largest annual gains in July include:
- Sacramento (33.1 percent)
- Las Vegas (30.8 percent)
- San Francisco (27.8 percent)
According to the Zillow Home Value Forecast, over the next year American home values are predicted to rise by 4.8 percent to around $169,308, with the most appreciation occurring in Sacramento, Riverside, and San Francisco.
Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries, said:
“After three straight months of annual home value appreciation above 5 percent, the U.S. housing market recovery has proven it is on very sound footing. We have entered a new phase in the recovery when we can begin to turn away from ugly recent history and turn toward what the housing market of the future will look like and how it will act. The time to have these discussions is now, and recent efforts by President Obama and both parties in the House and Senate to begin addressing still-lingering structural issues related to housing finance are very encouraging.”
He added:
“It may be tempting to look at how the market is currently performing and think that tackling GSE reform and other large issues is no longer necessary. But while we can afford to turn away from the recent past, we cannot afford to forget it, and simply ignoring these problems only dooms us to repeat them. How we handle these all-important policy debates will be critical in keeping the housing market on sound footing for years to come.”
There was a 0.5 percent increase in national rents to $1,287 in July compared to June. National rents went up by 1,7 percent over the past year.
In addition, there were far fewer foreclosure out of every 10,000 homes in July, down to only 4.9 foreclosures per ten thousand homes.