Home buyers face another challenging shopping season, according to new data released by the most visited real estate website in the United States.
Zillow Group Inc. (NASDAQ: Z,Forum) reported that its home value index rose 1.5% from December to January to $325,677, up 19.9% from a year ago. The annual growth rate represents an all-time high over the last 20 years, and the monthly pace continued to accelerate after reaching a low of 1.2% in November. If monthly price growth were to hold steady at January's pace, annual growth in 2022 would be 19%. Home values are up 30.9% — nearly $77,000 — since January 2020, on the eve of the pandemic.
Zillow’s senior economist Jeff Tucker explained that today’s home buyers today are making bids and closing deals despite some of the most challenging conditions ever: record-few homes for sale to choose from, priced at double-digit gains from last year, financed at sharply rising mortgage rates.
“It remains to be seen how long buyers can weather this storm, and how long homeowners will watch values rise before deciding to list. Neither have blinked yet. Expect another sizzling hot spring shopping season.”
The rising heat in the market is widespread. Monthly home value growth accelerated from December to January in 38 of the nation's 50 largest metropolitan areas. Among these, the fastest monthly growth was in Nashville, San Diego, and Las Vegas, all at 2.5%. The slowest growth was in Milwaukee, New York and Washington, D.C., all at 0.7%.
Prices are painfully high, inventory is shockingly low ... To read this report in full, click
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