Home Values Fall in April for First Time in Seven Years

The median home value fell 0.1% month-over-month in April, the first monthly decline of national values in seven years.

Zillow reports that annual gains, a more stable metric than monthly numbers, slowed to 6.1% in April, down from 7.5% percent in 2018. The median home value is now $226,800, up from last April’s $213,700.

Home values in all but four of the country’s largest metro areas were flat or down from March to April. San Jose, Calif., posted the largest monthly decline, down 1.4%, the area’s sixth month-over-month decline in a row. April also was the second month in which San Jose’s median home value fell on an annual basis, down 2.7% to $1.19 million—still the priciest large market in the nation.

It’s important not to exaggerate the significance of month-over-month changes, which are always more volatile, following the adage that one point does not make a trend. A small percentage change in one month easily could rebound the following month, something that happens with housing data on a regular basis. That’s part of the reason market watchers prefer less-volatile quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year measures, which capture longer running trends.

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