Home Values in 0.1% Decline During September

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U.S. home values took a miniscule – but still unexpected – decline of 0.1% from August into September, according to new data from Zillow Group (NASDAQ:Z. ZG).

Nonetheless, the typical home value is currently $350,091, up roughly 2% year-over-year, while 31 of the 50 largest metro areas have home values that are higher today versus one year ago – most notably Hartford (up 11.1%), Milwaukee (8.5%), Providence (6.4%) and Virginia Beach (6.2%). Several pandemic-era hot spots recorded the greatest year-over-year decline, including Austin (-10%), Las Vegas (-4.3%), Phoenix (-4.2%) and San Antonio (-2.5%).

New listings fell by about 6% from August to September, but the number of total listings inched up by 0.2%; inventory levels are about 10% lower than last year and 41% below that of pre-pandemic 2019.

“Mortgage rates approaching 8% are taking the wind out of the market’s sails, pushing monthly mortgage payments beyond many buyers’ budgets,” said Jeff Tucker, Zillow senior economist. “While attractive listings are still moving at a brisk clip, competition among buyers is fading quickly due to the shock of mortgage rates on top of normal autumn seasonality.”