Zillow: Metro Atlanta home values up 5.9%

After hitting a bottom in home values in the second quarter of 2012, metro Atlanta’s home values posted significant growth in the second quarter of 2013.

Jacques Couret
Senior Online Editor- Atlanta Business Chronicle

After hitting a bottom in home values in the second quarter of 2012, metro Atlanta’s home values posted significant growth in the second quarter of 2013, according to the second quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.

Home values here averaged $120,500 in the second quarter — up 5.9 percent over Q2 2012 and up 2.2 percent from Q1 2013.

Zillow forecasts metro Atlanta’s home value will be up another 4.9 percent in the second quarter of 2014.

National home values rose to $161,100 as of the end of the second quarter — up 5.8 percent year-over-year and 2.4 percent from the first quarter. That’s the largest annual gain since August 2006 and biggest quarterly gain since the fourth quarter of 2005.

“The U.S. housing market as a whole is currently not experiencing a bubble, but in many places it sure must feel like one, with some markets experiencing annual home value appreciation approaching 30 percent,” said Zillow Senior Economist Svenja Gudell. “Homeowners are feeling a sense of whiplash after years of depreciation, but this kind of market behavior won’t last. Investors are starting to pull out of some markets and regular buyers are coming back, and more inventory is slowly but surely coming on line, both of which will contribute to slowdowns in appreciation.”

Gudell added that in some “overheated” markets, rapid home value increases combined with rising mortgage rates will lead to housing prices and financing costs outpacing local income growth, which will also contribute to a moderation of the market.