U.S. Home Values Post Largest Monthly Gain Since 2006; Majority of Markets Forecasted To Hit Bottom by Late 2012 – Zillow Real Estate Research
By Stan Humphries
Zillow’s first quarter Real Estate Market Reports, released today, show home values decreased 0.5 percent from the fourth quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2012 to $146,200 (Figure 1). On an annual basis, home values are down 3.1 percent from March 2011 levels (Figure 2). Despite showing quarterly and annual depreciation, the quarter ended positively with home values rising significantly in March (up 0.5 percent from February). While we are encouraged by strong data in March, it is too early to call rising home values a trend as we still expect some modest declines in national home values this year with a definitive national bottom later this year or early 2013.
