Appreciation currently is at its fastest since June 2006, just ahead of the downturn, according to the April Zillow® Real Estate Market Report.
Nationally, the median price is $215,600, growing at an 8.7 percent rate year-over-year, according to the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), a gauge of median prices.
Before the bubble burst, prices were rising 9 percent year-over-year. In a separate survey by Zillow, experts in housing predicted a recession will start in 2020.
“Home values are rising faster than we’ve seen in a very long time,” says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow. “The spring home-shopping season has been a perfect storm of strong demand and tight supply. Sluggish new construction has exacerbated the supply situation, and homes that are hitting the market are moving very quickly once they do. Americans are also in a spending mood, boosted by recent tax cuts and rising wages.”
In April, ground-breaking on homes (single-family) inched up 0.1 percent, according to the Commerce Department.
For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
