The housing market is showing signs of stabilizing, with a cool-off in home prices and rents in September, according to the latest monthly Real Estate Market Report from Zillow.
From August to September, annual appreciation nationwide slowed from 7.8 percent to 7.6 percent, the report shows, and compared to September 2017, rents were 0.2 percent lower. Additionally, there was a 1.9 percent deficit in inventory year-over-year—the smallest since 2015.
Still, the median price was $220,100—high even with the softening—and the median rent was $1,440.
“[This is] yet another signal that the housing market is easing toward a more normal, sustainable pace after the frenzy of the past three years,” says Aaron Terrazas, senior economist at Zillow. “With slowing rents and home value growth, searching for a new home should be somewhat less competitive than it was a year ago, giving renters and buyers a bit of breathing room. Rents remain high by historic standards, but September’s modest annual decline in rents should ease some of the pressure pushing higher-income renters to buy—and though home value appreciation is slowing, homes are more expensive than ever, making it difficult for first-time buyers to save for a down payment to break into the market.”
In the largest markets:
For more information, please visit www.zillow.com.
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
