SEATTLE, Feb. 23, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- As the home
shopping season approaches, lack of inventory continues to limit
choices available to potential buyers, putting a strain on markets
across the country.
Home shoppers had 8.6 percent fewer homesi to choose
from than they did last year, according to the January Zillow® Real
Estate Market Reportsii. Housing starts reached a
three-month lowiii in January, indicating that newly
built homes will not be a significant benefit for buyers,
either.
A restricted supply of homes for sale will mean increased
competition for homes that are available, and bidding wars that can
price out entry-level or first-time buyers. Low inventory, along
with a strong job market has been driving up home prices,
especially on the West Coast.
Across the country, only a quarter of markets saw inventory
increase over the past year. Among the largest metros in the U.S.,
Atlanta saw the largest increase
in available homes for sale – 6.8 percent. Home shoppers in
San Diego have significantly fewer
options – inventory there has dropped 30 percent.
Besides inventory, Zillow looks at price cuts and days on market
to help identify whether markets are better for buyers or sellers.
According to Zillow's latest Buyer/Seller analysisiv,
markets that benefit sellers are mostly grouped in the West, where
buyers are more likely to face bidding wars. Buyers will find
themselves with more bargaining power in the East, in markets like
Philadelphia and Baltimore.
Top 10 Sellers'
Markets
|
Top 10
Buyers' Markets
|
1.
|
San Jose,
Calif.
|
1.
|
Philadelphia,
Pa.
|
2.
|
San Francisco,
Calif.
|
2.
|
Chicago,
Ill.
|
3.
|
Denver,
Colo.
|
3.
|
Baltimore,
Md.
|
4.
|
Seattle,
Wash.
|
4.
|
Hartford,
Conn.
|
5.
|
Nashville,
Tenn.
|
5.
|
New York/Northern New
Jersey
|
6.
|
Portland,
Ore.
|
6.
|
Miami,
Fla.
|
7.
|
Sacramento,
Calif.
|
7.
|
Indianapolis,
Ind.
|
8.
|
Raleigh,
N.C.
|
8.
|
Jacksonville,
Fla.
|
9.
|
Salt Lake City,
Utah
|
9.
|
Virginia Beach,
Va.
|
10.
|
San Diego,
Calif.
|
10.
|
Orlando,
Fla.
|
"If you're looking for a home or trying to sell, it's important
to know what kind of market you're in," said Zillow Chief Economist
Dr. Svenja Gudell. "Hopeful buyers
in a strong sellers' market should be prepared to move quickly,
since homes don't stay on the market as long. In a buyers' market,
they can afford to take their time and be more selective. However,
low inventory is a factor affecting the majority of the country, so
buyers should be prepared for a limited selection as we enter the
home buying season."
National home values rose 4.2 percent to a Zillow Home Value
Indexv of $184,000. The
pace of home value appreciation has increased for ten straight
months. Denver and Dallas continue to lead the way, with strong
double-digit increases in home values.
Rents, on the other hand, continued their recent trend of
leveling off, growing 2.9 percent from last January. San Francisco was the only large metro to see
double-digit rent increases.
Metropolitan
Area
|
January 2016
Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)
|
ZHVI Change
January 2015-January 2016
|
Zillow Rent
Indexvi Change January 2015- January 2016
|
Inventory Change
January 2015-January 2016
|
United
States
|
$184,000
|
4.2%
|
2.9%
|
-8.6%
|
New York/Northern New
Jersey
|
$382,400
|
2.1%
|
4.9%
|
-1.1%
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach-Anaheim, CA
|
$559,000
|
6.5%
|
3.9%
|
-14.8%
|
Chicago,
IL
|
$193,200
|
2.9%
|
0.4%
|
-3.0%
|
Dallas-Fort Worth,
TX
|
$179,000
|
14.2%
|
4.3%
|
-14.5%
|
Philadelphia,
PA
|
$203,400
|
1.4%
|
1.8%
|
-3.5%
|
Houston,
TX
|
$170,300
|
7.1%
|
4.4%
|
4.0%
|
Washington,
DC
|
$358,000
|
0.6%
|
0.9%
|
0.3%
|
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, FL
|
$227,200
|
10.5%
|
4.2%
|
-15.1%
|
Atlanta,
GA
|
$161,600
|
6.6%
|
3.5%
|
6.8%
|
Boston, MA
|
$384,500
|
5.9%
|
6.0%
|
-4.7%
|
San Francisco,
CA
|
$790,700
|
12.0%
|
11.4%
|
-5.2%
|
Detroit,
MI
|
$121,900
|
6.0%
|
2.0%
|
-1.7%
|
Riverside,
CA
|
$298,900
|
5.9%
|
3.2%
|
-8.3%
|
Phoenix,
AZ
|
$217,400
|
8.2%
|
3.6%
|
-14.8%
|
Seattle,
WA
|
$371,100
|
9.5%
|
7.2%
|
-27.1%
|
Minneapolis-St Paul,
MN
|
$217,800
|
4.7%
|
1.6%
|
-4.1%
|
San Diego,
CA
|
$502,500
|
6.5%
|
3.7%
|
-30.2%
|
St. Louis,
MO
|
$141,500
|
6.7%
|
1.2%
|
-10.7%
|
Tampa, FL
|
$161,700
|
9.0%
|
4.0%
|
-18.6%
|
Baltimore,
MD
|
$243,500
|
1.3%
|
0.8%
|
-3.8%
|
Denver, CO
|
$324,500
|
15.4%
|
8.0%
|
-9.3%
|
Pittsburgh,
PA
|
$126,000
|
1.3%
|
0.9%
|
1.7%
|
Portland,
OR
|
$312,700
|
12.8%
|
9.2%
|
-26.2%
|
Charlotte,
NC
|
$158,600
|
5.3%
|
2.9%
|
-29.0%
|
Sacramento,
CA
|
$334,400
|
8.4%
|
4.4%
|
-14.4%
|
San Antonio,
TX
|
$148,300
|
6.3%
|
2.9%
|
-16.2%
|
Orlando,
FL
|
$181,500
|
7.2%
|
4.2%
|
-11.6%
|
Cincinnati,
OH
|
$142,700
|
4.0%
|
2.4%
|
-15.0%
|
Cleveland,
OH
|
$124,700
|
2.2%
|
-0.6%
|
-2.3%
|
Kansas City,
MO
|
$147,100
|
5.7%
|
3.5%
|
-7.5%
|
Las Vegas,
NV
|
$200,400
|
8.6%
|
1.5%
|
-6.5%
|
Columbus,
OH
|
$151,500
|
5.0%
|
2.8%
|
-14.9%
|
Indianapolis,
IN
|
$130,600
|
3.8%
|
0.5%
|
-13.1%
|
San Jose,
CA
|
$940,000
|
12.9%
|
8.3%
|
-1.1%
|
Austin, TX
|
$244,000
|
9.3%
|
3.5%
|
-1.2%
|
About Zillow
Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace
dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and
knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with
the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow
operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by
Zillow's Chief Economist Dr. Svenja
Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data
analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more
than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also
sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which
asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and
investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow
Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the
bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures
consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and
over time. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow
Group (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.
Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.
i Each week, a count of the number of single-family,
condominium and cooperative housing units listed for sale on Zillow
is taken. The median of these values within a month is calculated
as the monthly value. Because inventory can be seasonal, a
seasonally adjusted value is reported using a standard STL
procedure. This seasonally adjusted series is then smoothed using a
three-month rolling average.
ii The Zillow Real Estate Market Reports are a monthly
overview of the national and local real estate markets. The reports
are compiled by Zillow Real Estate Research. For more information,
visit www.zillow.com/research/. The data in Zillow's Real Estate
Market Reports are aggregated from public sources by a number of
data providers for 928 metropolitan and micropolitan areas dating
back to 1996. Mortgage and home loan data are typically recorded in
each county and publicly available through a county recorder's
office. All current monthly data at the national, state, metro,
city, ZIP code and neighborhood level can be accessed at
www.zillow.com/local-info/ and www.zillow.com/research/data.
iii
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-17/housing-starts-in-u-s-decline-to-lowest-level-in-three-months
iv Zillow's Buyer/Seller Analysis ranked data on the
number of days listings spent on Zillow and the percentage of homes
on the market with a price cut, and ranked the 50 largest metro
areas in the country to determine whether buyers or sellers have
more negotiating power in a given market.
v The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is the median
estimated home value for a given geographic area on a given day and
includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums
and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given
period. It is expressed in dollars, and seasonally adjusted.
vi The Zillow Rent Index is the median Rent Zestimate®
(estimated monthly rental price) for a given geographic area on a
given day, and includes the value of all single-family residences,
condominiums, cooperatives and apartments in Zillow's database,
regardless of whether they are currently listed for rent. It is
expressed in dollars.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/low-inventory-limits-options-for-home-buyers-across-the-country-300224259.html
SOURCE Zillow