RISMEDIA, August 14, 2007—Home buyers who “moved up” in the recent past may find their new investment has “moved down” over the past year, while neighbors in cozy cottages have held on to their value better in the face of a nationwide decline. Similarly, condo owners experienced a sharp decline in home values in Q2. This data is according to Zillow.com, which released its quarterly home value reports for the U.S. and 66
metropolitan areas.
Nationwide, values for all homes are down 2.8% year-over-year and are relatively flat quarter-over-quarter (0.1%), with a U.S. Zindex(TM) home value indicator of $251,588. But, when broken out by size, differences in value become very evident.
Midsized and large homes—which include the U.S. average 1,500 square-foot residence— showed the steepest declines among single-family residences, with values down 3.1% and 2.8% year-over-year, respectively. Small homes declined just one percent in the same period. According to Zillow, in this analysis, large single-family homes are defined as those with more than 1,900 square feet, midsized homes are 1,200-1,900 square feet, and a small home is defined as less than 1,200 square feet.
Similarly, condo values dropped 5.2% year-over-year, with a Zindex home value indicator of $238,721. Condo owners in parts of Florida and California’s Central Valley experienced the sharpest drops – between 10 and 14% compared to Q2 2006.
“The U.S. real estate market still appears quite anemic, at best, with many markets still doing poorly, especially those in South Florida and Southern California,” said Stan Humphries, Zillow’s vice president of data and analytics. “The one ray of hope this period is that we’ve not seen another quarter-over-quarter decline as we’ve experienced for the past two quarters. The significantly poorer performance of condos and larger single-family homes suggests that prices for these housing sectors are still not in accord with current demand.”
The difference in market appreciation isn’t limited to home size or type. In addition to comparing performance across home types, the report compares the Zindex home value indicator across 66 different metropolitan regions. According to the report, California (including most major cities in the Central Valley and Southern regions) and Florida (Central, South and Gulf Coast) experienced larger year-over-year declines than most of the country. Most cities in the Pacific Northwest continue to buck the national trend and are still experiencing marked appreciation year-over-year and quarter-over-quarter.
A full comparison of 66 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) can be found in Zillow’s national Q2 2007 Home Value report, at http://www.zillow.com. According to the company, Zillow has also released individual reports for each MSA broken out by county, city, ZIP code and neighborhood.
Some other interesting findings from the national report include:
— Highest-appreciating metropolitan areas (year-over-year):
— Grand Junction, Colo. (18.6%)
— Corvallis, Ore. (11.2%)
— Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC-SC (9.0%)
— Eugene-Springfield, Ore. (6.9%)
— Spokane, Wash. (6.1%)
— Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton, Wash. (5.3%)
— Most-depreciating metropolitan areas (year-over-year):
— Sarasota-Bradenton, Fla. (-16.4%)
— Melbourne-Titusville-Palm Bay, Fla. (-14.3%)
— Stockton-Lodi, Calif. (-13.5%)
— Charleston-North Charleston, SC (-12.8%)
— Daytona Beach, Fla. (-12.5%)
— Modesto, Calif. (-12.4%)
— Most expensive metropolitan areas (measured by Zindex):
— San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose, Calif. ($685,653)
— Honolulu, Hawaii ($632,270)
— San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, Calif. ($537,722)
— Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif. ($525,175)
— San Diego, Calif. ($505,334)
— New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island ($445,435)
— Least expensive metropolitan areas (measured by Zindex):
— Jackson, Tenn. ($91,563)
— Greenville-Spartanburg-Anderson, SC ($101,178)
— Tulsa, Okla. ($102,876)
— Dayton-Springfield, Ohio ($108,121)
— Rockford, Ill. ($116,475)
— Columbia, SC ($116,865)
The Zindex home value indicator is the median Zestimate(TM) valuation for a given geographic area on a given day, and includes the value of all homes, not just those that sold in a given period. Exactly half the Zestimates for a region are below this number, and half the Zestimates are above it. It is expressed in dollars and is for a particular geographic region.
For more information, visit http://www.zillow.com
