For the first time in seven years, April’s median listed home value dropped in seven years, according to Zillow. True, the median listed home price of $226,800 was only 0.1% lower than March 2019, but, “The widespread decline in home value growth in April 2019…will turn heads,” said Skylar Olsen, Director of Economic Research for Zillow.
In spite of this incremental monthly decline and the fact that April was the fourth straight month of slowing price appreciation, home prices are still up +6.1%.
Olsen told Patrick Kearns of Curbed “…the likelihood that home values have peaked in several local markets is real.” Olsen pointed to possible “peaked” markets as being in major cities such as Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Housing, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, San Diego, St. Louis, Tampa, Baltimore, Pittsburg and San Jose.
Riverside CA was the only major market that saw home values increase m/m nation-wide. In 32 of 35 of the largest markets around the country, home values fell in April while two major markets remained static.
Meanwhile, rents continued to grow nation-wide to a median rent of $1,477, an increase of +2.6% on an annual basis. April 2019 registered as the sixth consecutive month of median rent increases.
Mortgage rates rose slightly on a month-to- month basis on a 30-year fixed mortgage to as high as 4.17% but ended the month at 4.06%, up four percentage points from April 1.
Olsen concluded her remarks to Kearns by saying, “Month-to-month numbers are volatile…this small decline could reverse itself before the year is out and before national home values go negative on a y/y basis.”
