SEATTLE–As any home shopper knows, home values keep rising. And the latest numbers from the September Zillow Real Estate Market Report back up the anecdotal evidence. The Report found home values were up 5.5% in September over one year earlier.
According to Zillow, Seattle, Portland, and Dallas reported the highest year-over-year home value appreciation among the 35 largest metros across the country. In Portland, home values rose almost 15% to a median value of $342,100, Zillow said, while home values in Dallas and Seattle appreciated 12% and 11%, respectively. For the first time, the median home value in the Seattle just inched past $400,000 and is now at $401,100.
While inventories have been tight, the biggest reason for the increase in prices is demand, according to Zillow. Bidding wars have become common. Zillow’s Group Consumer Housing Trends Report found that only 46% of buyers get the first home on which they make an offer, and the home search takes an average of 4.2 months.