August 2017 Market Report: More Than Half of U.S. Homes Have Rebounded to Pre-Recession Peak Values

• The share of U.S. homes worth more than they were prior to the recession reached 52.6 percent in August.
• Less than half (47 percent) of homes valued in the bottom third nationally were worth the same or more than their prior highs, while 52.5 percent of the middle third and 53.8 percent of homes valued in the top third were.
• The U.S. Zillow Home Value Index grew 6.9 percent year-over-year in August to reach $201,900, while the U.S. Zillow Rent Index climbed 1.9 percent to $1,430.

More than half of U.S. homes – 52.6 percent – are worth as much or more than they were at the peak of the national housing boom in April 2007.

Markets with the highest share of homes that have fully recovered in value include Denver, Dallas and Nashville, where values for almost all homes built before the recession have reached or surpassed their pre-recession peaks: 99.6 percent, 97.5 percent and 97.3 percent, respectively.

San Diego crossed the 50-percent line along with the national median, with 52.2 percent of its homes now at or above their pre-recession peaks.

In many markets, only a sliver of homes have recovered their values: Less than 1 percent of homes in Las Vegas have returned to their earlier peaks. Less than 10 percent of homes in Orlando, Riverside, Calif., Hartford, Conn., Phoenix and Miami have reached theirs.

Dividing homes into tiers based on how much they’re worth, only 47 percent of homes valued in the bottom third nationally had returned to their prior value peaks by August, while 52.5 percent of the middle third and 53.8 percent in the top third had bounced back.

In some markets, the contrast is even starker: In Cleveland, for example, only 8.6 percent of homes valued in the bottom third had rebounded, compared to 57.9 percent of homes in the top third.

Growth in the national Zillow Home Value Index continued to slow, gaining 6.9 percent year-over-year in August to reach $201,900, even with July’s growth.

Inventory fell 12.6 percent in August from a year earlier, while the median number of days that homes spent on the market remained steady in July at 72.

The national Zillow Rent Index (ZRI) climbed 1.9 percent year-over-year to $1,430 in August. Among the country’s 35 largest markets, West Coast markets continued to lead the way, with Sacramento, Calif., gaining 5.6 percent year-over-year to $1,773, Seattle climbing 5.4 percent to $2,176 and Riverside, Calif., growing 5.2 percent to $1,821.

Despite a slight (0.6 percent) decline in its year-over-year ZRI, San Jose, Calif., continues to be the country’s priciest rental market, with an August ZRI of $3,485. The least expensive top market in August was Pittsburgh, whose 1.2 percent year-over-year drop put its ZRI at $1,080.