In February, more than 25 percent of the nation’s metro housing markets are, or were within the last year, as high as they have ever been. Zillow’s Home Value Index was at 184,600 in February, which was still 5.9 percent below the record median home value, which was set in 2007, but on a regional basis, many housing markets are zipping right by the previous median home value highs.
The South and the West were especially fast to rise, as Dallas home values set a new record topping out at $180,700 in February, which was up 13.7 percent from last February. Nashville also saw a huge increase in home values as the median rose 9.5 percent to $189,100.
Since home values grow pretty consistently every year, they are always reaching new peaks, so this alone can’t be taken to mean much. But, as Zillow reports, the past decade has not been a normal one for the U.S. housing market. The housing boom and subsequent bust threw a wrench in the gears and made what is happening now anything but normal.
Home values are expected to continue growing another 2.3 percent through February 2017 and rents will continue to grow as well, only at a slower pace of 1.7 percent. Even though some areas are still missing their pre-recession peaks by double digits, such as Las Vegas and Orlando, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are still far from recovery; it could simply be an illustration of how inflated housing prices in these markets were during the housing bubble.
