Zillow (Z) Real Estate Market Reports notes the rise in national home values continued through October with a 1.1% month-over-month from September. This year-long rise pushed the national home value to $155,400.
October marks the twelfth consecutive monthly increase and is the largest since August 2005, when home values increased 1.2%. Year-over-year home values rose 4.7% from October 2011, marking the largest jump since September 2006.
“We’ve reached a milestone with one full year of monthly home value gains,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “Those dubious about the durability of the housing recovery will point to the large role that investors are playing in the recovery, or to the large number of foreclosures yet to hit the market, as factors to be wary of. But the bottom line is that homes are more affordable now than at any time in recent memory, and buyers are seizing this opportunity.”
All of the nation’s 30 largest metro areas that Zillow covers reported an increase, excluding Chicago. Even further, all but four of the 30 areas saw a year-over-year value increase. Phoenix, San Jose, Denver, San Francisco and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale experienced the greatest increase.
In October, national foreclosures fell as 5.57 out of every 10,000 homes were foreclosed during the month. This is a 0.8% decrease month-over-month since September and an annual 1.9% drop.
“We expect to see increasing numbers of potential buyers entering the market as the broader economy continues to recover and household formation picks up further,” said Humphries. “We’re hopeful that negotiations over the ‘fiscal cliff’ don’t derail this momentum.”
