Hottest Housing Not Appreciating Like it Used to

Home values in some of the nation's hottest markets like Seattle, Tampa, Fla. Portland, Ore., and Sacramento, Calif. are appreciating more slowly as buyers bow out.

New analysis by Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas finds that while Seattle was first in the nation for its rapid pace of home value appreciation, up 14.8 percent in June 2017, it is now the twelfth-fastest, with annual growth of 9.1 percent in July 2018. The United States' national stock of for-sale housing was down 3.9 percent year-over-year, with the biggest drops in Atlanta and Columbus, Ohio ranging between 14.2 and 14.4 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, California markets in San Jose and San Diego had inventory increases ranging between 36.3 and 46.2 percent.

Tampa’s growth slowed to 10.6 percent (for a median home value of $205,900), Sacramento and Portland each to 5.7 percent ($400,800 and $391,800, respectively). While 8 percent annual growth for U.S. home values is above the 7.3 percent annual growth from July 2017, it is down slightly from growth earlier in 2018. And Zillow forecasts the annual appreciation rate will slow to 6.8 percent by this time next year.

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