Year-over-year home value growth rose in February after a nearly two-year slowdown, according to the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Report.
The typical home value is now $247,084, a 3.9 percent increase from a year ago, Zillow found. Prior to February, the rate of annual appreciation nationally had slowed in each month between May 2018, when they grew 6.7 percent year-over-year, and January 2020, when they grew 3.8 percent.
“Zillow’s February numbers show the strong position the housing market was in just ahead of the novel coronavirus’s spread in the United States, and the subsequent stock market downturn,” Zillow Economist Jeff Tucker said in a release.
“In February we saw inventory stuck near record lows, which was finally enough to reignite home price appreciation after a cooler 2019,” Tucker said. “Homebuyers were flocking to the market this winter with their finances buttressed by the longest economic expansion in memory, and with their purchasing power magnified by rock-bottom mortgage interest rates. Now, though, as so much is uncertain, we are entering uncharted territory for the housing market.”
According to the report, for-sale inventory in February fell to a new low in Zillow data that dates back to 2013. Inventory was down 8.4 percent nationwide and 29.4 percent in Phoenix, which had the biggest annual gain in home values among the 35 largest U.S. metros.
During February, home value growth accelerated in 23 of the 35 largest U.S. metros. The acceleration was greatest in expensive West Coast markets, led by San Jose, Calif., which saw positive annual home value growth for the first time since January 2019.