According to the latest Zillow Market Report, the typical home value eclipsed $350,000 for the first time ever as healthy demand from buyers continues to collide with reluctant sellers,
“Home buyers have persisted this spring despite daunting affordability challenges and record-low inventory,” says Jeff Tucker, senior economist at Zillow. “Demand typically begins to ease in the summer, and there are signs that competition is waning, but large price declines are unlikely until more homeowners list their homes for sale.”
The typical U.S. home value climbed 1.4% from May to June, continuing a four-month hot streak. The new peak of $350,213 is almost 1% higher than last June and barely edges out the previous Zillow Home Value Index record set in July 2022.
Affordability remains the key to market strength, as lower-priced metro areas posted the largest monthly gains; Chicago, Buffalo, New Orleans and Hartford all notched 2.1% monthly growth, with Detroit close behind at 2%.
As in May, home values rose from the previous month in all 50 of the largest metro areas. The slowest monthly growth was in Austin (0.4%), followed by Jacksonville, Memphis, San Antonio and Birmingham, which all saw 0.8% increases.
The flow of new homes for sale ticked up 2.4% month over month, but the annual deficit deepened, now standing at 28% fewer listings than a year ago.
The total pool of existing homes for sale is lower than any June since at least 2018. It’s down 10% from last year and a tremendous 45% below June 2019.
Listings also lasted longer in June, 11 days before the typical listing went pending, compared to 10 in May. But that’s still a much faster market than in 2019, when listings went pending in 21 days. Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay.