U.S. Annual Home Value Appreciation Rate Hits Six Percent for July

SEATTLE-National home value appreciation rose again in July, up 0.4% from June to a Zillow Home Value Index of $161,600, according to the July Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Home values were up 6% year-over-year in July, the 14th)straight month of annual appreciation and the first time year-over-year appreciation rates have reached 6% since 2006. Monthly home values have risen in 20 of the past 21 months, beginning in November 2011 after the U.S. market bottomed in October of that year. The 6 percent national rate of annual appreciation is the highest since August 2006. Of the 393 metros covered in July, 289 (73.5 percent) registered month-over-month appreciation, and 303 (77.1% showed annual appreciation. All 30 of the largest metro areas covered by Zillow registered both monthly and annual appreciation in July, and all have hit their bottom and are expected to show appreciation in the next 12 months. Metros with the largest annual gains in July included Sacramento (33.1% ), Las Vegas (30.8% and San Francisco (27.8%).

For the 12-month period from July 2013 to July 2014, U.S. home values are expected to rise another 4.8% to approximately $169,308, according to the Zillow Home Value Forecast. Large metro areas expected to show the most appreciation over the next year include Sacramento (19.6%), Riverside (19.2%) and San Francisco (13.2%).