The coronavirus pandemic continues to impact individuals and businesses worldwide, but despite the economic uncertainty, home values are holding strong, according to a recent Zillow analysis.
In May, the median price of a home in the U.S. was $263,508—a 4.6 percent increase from the same time last year. Month-over-month, however, May posted the second consecutive decline in which the annual growth rate slowed from the month prior (down from 5.3 percent YoY in April). In March, the near continuous growth over the span of a year peaked at 5.5 percent YoY.
However, prices could be on the rise again, data suggests. List prices increased 4.3 percent annually in early July, up 5.8 percent over the last two months. Additionally, there are more buyers than sellers in today’s market, allowing sellers to hold firm on their asking price due to increased demand. Zillow reports that only 4.1 percent of active listings in the last week of June had undergone a price cut.
On a regional level, the median sales price increased YoY in all of the 50 largest U.S. metros. The following metros experienced the biggest price growth: Indianapolis (+11.8 percent) and Salt Lake City (+9.8 percent). These metros had the slowed price growth: Las Vegas (+0.8 percent) and San Francisco (+1.3 percent).
“As surprising as it might have seemed at the time, sellers who forged ahead with listing their homes this spring were richly rewarded, when buyers buoyed by record-low mortgage rates flooded their listings with offers,” said Jeff Tucker, Zillow economist. “Now, word is getting out that the housing market is on solid ground, so more listings are belatedly rushing to market, extending the busy spring shopping season well into summer. The huge millennial first-time home-buying wave is still cresting, pushing demand above what’s still very limited supply, so sellers are likely to find eager buyers for months or even years to come.”
For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.
