Are Home Values Finally Stabilizing?

Zillow Real Estate’s latest market report says maybe

On a year-over-year basis, the Zillow® Home Value index declined 5.1 percent. Zillow reports that “the rate of monthly depreciation has stabilized around -0.2 to -0.3 percent over the last few months.”

Of the 156 metropolitan statistical areas covered by Zillow, while 95 showed monthly depreciation in home values, 39 areas actually saw an increase in monthly home value this past October. Twenty-two (22) areas remained flat.

The nine markets that saw the largest year-over-year home value increases from October 2010 to October 2011?

• Tulsa, OK— one-year price gain of 6.2%
• Oklahoma City, OK — one year price gain of 3.1%
• Lincoln, NE — one year price gain of 2.7%
• Madison, WI — one year price gain of 1.3%
• Honolulu, HI — one year price gain of 1.3%
• Fort Collins, CO — one year price gain of 1.3%
• Fort Myers, FL — one year price gain of 0.4%
• Pittsburgh, PA — one year price gain of 0.4%
• Boulder, CO — one year price gain of 0.2%

Another sign of stabilization is the decline in the foreclosure liquidation rate — at 8.1 out of every 10,000 homes being liquidated as of October, 2011 — down from the all-time high of 10.7 out of every 10,000 homes in October, 2010. That’s a drop of nearly 25 percent.

For more details on the Zillow Home Value Index and the latest Zillow Real Estate Market Report, check out these articles:

• U.S. Home Values Continued Fall in October; Rate of Decline Stabilizes (MarketWatch)
• Real Estate Markets: Top 9 Gainers in 2011 (Huffington Post)
• A Bit of Good Real Estate News? (Realty Times)