Home values fell for the first time in nine months in August, declining 0.1 percent month-over-month to $152,100, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Home values were up on a year-over-year basis, though, increasing 1.7 percent from August 2011.
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Home values fell for the first time in nine months in August, declining 0.1 percent month-over-month to $152,100, according to Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Home values were up on a year-over-year basis, though, increasing 1.7 percent from August 2011.
Major markets that saw home values move downward from July to August after experiencing prior increases included Chicago (-0.7 percent), New York (-0.3 percent) and Boston (-0.2 percent). Home values continued to climb in the Phoenix (1.6 percent) and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (1 percent) areas, although the rate of increase was smaller in August.
"Home values took a small hit in August, but this shouldn't be cause for alarm," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "The back half of the year is always softer than the front half, and this year is no exception. We've been encouraging folks to focus on the longer-term trends and not monthly blips. Home values will rise a little and fall a little, month by month, in the near future, but we believe the overall trend will remain positive albeit still below normal rates of appreciation."
Also, results from Zillow's Home Price Expectations Survey in September indicate home prices will rise by a total 2.3 percent during 2012. The survey, comprising input from 113 economists, real estate experts, and investment and market strategists, is based on the projected path of the S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index during the coming five years. Survey respondents expect home prices to increase in full-year 2012 by 2.3 percent, up from their forecast of -0.4 percent in the June 2012 survey. Respondents have also revised their forecasts for 2013-2016, predicting steadily increasing home values each year.
"Not since mid-2010-in the midst of the homebuyer tax credits-have we seen this group so bullish on housing," Humphries said. "It's refreshing to see this optimism at a time when the market seems to be making an organic recovery, in the absence of an artificial stimulant like the tax credits."
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