Inventory Down Year-Over-Year for Fifth Straight Month, Offering Home Shoppers Little Relief

- Inventory of all homes for sale nationwide fell 6.5 percent year-over-year.

- Inventory declined year-over-year in 19 of the nation's 35 largest metro areas covered by Zillow.

- Charlotte, San Antonio and San Diego experienced biggest decreases in supply of for-sale homes.

- U.S. home values nationwide were up 3.3 percent year-over-year, expected to rise another 2.4 percent in the next 12 months.

News provided by

Zillow, Inc.

Jul 30, 2015, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- There were fewer homes for sale in June than there were a year ago, increasing competition for potential buyers this home shopping season. Most of these declines were among the lowest-valued homes sought by first-time homebuyers, according to the first quarter Zillow® Real Estate Market Reportsⁱ.

In the lowest-priced third of homes for sale, the inventory homes on the marketⁱⁱ fell year-over-year in 28 of the nation's 35 largest metro areas. By comparison, among the highest-priced homes, inventory fell year-over-year in only 10 of the nation's largest metro areas.

The total number of homes listed for sale on Zillow in June was down 6.5 percent year-over-year but was up 2.1 percent on a monthly basis. Large metros where inventory has increased the most annually include Austin (up 30.3 percent), Atlanta (22.4 percent) and Washington, DC (18.9 percent).

"Historically low mortgage rates continue to keep overall ownership affordability very good by historical standards, making it a great time to buy a home, especially with rent becoming increasingly unaffordable," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. "Finding a house is the last hurdle for many buyers who have saved a down payment and gotten pre-approved for a mortgage. But low inventory levels like those we're seeing across the country can bring the home-buying process to a screeching halt. In many markets, there just isn't a lot to choose from in terms of homes on the market."

Overall, home values in the United States rose 3.3 percent from June 2014, and 0.3 percent from May to a Zillow Home Value Indexⁱⁱⁱ of $180,100. As home values continue to rise, buyers are faced with more challenges in a tighter market, especially in hot markets like Denver, which saw the highest home value appreciation from last year, surpassing even San Jose and San Francisco.

Rents have also continued to rise in the second quarter, up 4.3 percent from this time last year to a Zillow Rent Index^iv of $1,369.

	Zillow Home Value Index		Change in Inventory
Metropolitan Area	Q2 2015 ZHVI	YoY % Change in ZHVI	YoY % Change in Inventory, Overall	YoY % Change in Inventory, Bottom Tier	YoY % Change in Inventory, Middle Tier	YoY % Change in Inventory, Top Tier
United States	$ 180,100	3.3%	-6.5%	N/A	N/A	N/A
New York-Northern New Jersey	$ 381,000	0.6%	2.5%	-4.3%	-1.2%	10.0%
Los Angeles, CA	$ 535,900	2.6%	-7.4%	-26.1%	-7.9%	7.6%
Chicago, IL	$ 189,000	1.8%	13.1%	-4.9%	7.6%	17.9%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	$ 164,200	12.5%	-19.5%	-42.0%	-34.8%	-6.6%
Philadelphia, PA	$ 201,100	0.3%	-3.4%	-7.3%	-7.2%	1.6%
Houston, TX	$ 159,800	6.2%	3.1%	-29.5%	-23.9%	23.2%
Washington, DC	$ 360,000	0.3%	18.9%	10.4%	11.3%	20.0%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	$ 218,100	9.3%	-22.9%	-42.2%	-28.7%	-14.7%
Atlanta, GA	$ 156,600	6.0%	22.4%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Boston, MA	$ 365,800	1.2%	-1.0%	-8.5%	-7.4%	4.5%
San Francisco, CA	$ 753,500	11.0%	-3.5%	-21.8%	2.0%	5.9%
Detroit, MI	$ 116,600	5.6%	10.9%	7.1%	7.2%	13.3%
Riverside, CA	$ 288,100	5.1%	3.2%	-7.4%	1.4%	13.3%
Phoenix, AZ	$ 203,300	4.9%	-16.8%	-42.3%	-24.2%	2.3%
Seattle, WA	$ 354,000	7.6%	-16.1%	-29.1%	-21.2%	-4.3%
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN	$ 212,400	3.0%	4.2%	-20.9%	-10.5%	19.4%
San Diego, CA	$ 479,100	4.6%	-30.0%	-49.4%	-29.3%	-20.2%
St. Louis, MO	$ 135,200	5.1%	-11.5%	-10.1%	-17.3%	-10.5%
Tampa, FL	$ 152,100	6.7%	-13.2%	-31.1%	-17.5%	-1.2%
Baltimore, MD	$ 240,600	-0.6%	12.5%	14.4%	10.0%	4.3%
Denver, CO	$ 301,900	15.4%	-16.6%	-38.7%	-12.3%	-10.8%
Pittsburgh, PA	$ 124,300	1.5%	-4.3%	-7.5%	-8.5%	4.2%
Portland, OR	$ 291,000	7.4%	-18.1%	-36.8%	-25.6%	-5.9%
Sacramento, CA	$ 339,600	5.8%	16.7%	2.2%	18.6%	20.6%
San Antonio, TX	$ 148,500	1.6%	-31.3%	-63.9%	-54.5%	-25.9%
Orlando, FL	$ 172,300	4.7%	2.3%	-14.9%	-6.6%	16.5%
Cincinnati, OH	$ 137,100	1.6%	-1.8%	-6.2%	-8.5%	4.6%
Cleveland, OH	$ 121,000	0.9%	4.0%	1.9%	-2.3%	3.8%
Kansas City, MO	$ 141,100	2.5%	6.0%	-2.1%	-9.1%	20.1%
Las Vegas, NV	$ 189,000	6.0%	4.2%	-24.3%	-0.5%	26.6%
San Jose, CA	$ 894,700	12.4%	-9.0%	-38.7%	9.8%	14.4%
Columbus, OH	$ 149,100	4.8%	-8.3%	-23.0%	-15.7%	9.4%
Charlotte, NC	$ 160,900	4.1%	-39.7%	-48.7%	-44.8%	-25.0%
Indianapolis, IN	$ 131,700	2.3%	6.7%	N/A	N/A	N/A
Austin, TX	$ 230,500	6.7%	30.3%	-18.8%	17.8%	39.8%

About Zillow
Zillow® is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow's Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. In 2015, Dr. Humphries co-wrote and published the New York Times' bestselling "Zillow Talk: The New Rules of Real Estate." Dr. Humphries and his team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Zillow also sponsors the bi-annual Zillow Housing Confidence Index (ZHCI) which measures consumer confidence in local housing markets, both currently and over time. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z), and headquartered in Seattle.

Zillow is a registered trademark of Zillow, Inc.

ⁱ The Zillow Real Estate Market Reports are a monthly overview of the national and local real estate markets. The reports are compiled by Zillow Real Estate Research. For more information, visit www.zillow.com/research/. The data in Zillow's Real Estate Market Reports are aggregated from public sources by a number of data providers for 928 metropolitan and micropolitan areas dating back to 1996. Mortgage and home loan data are typically recorded in each county and publicly available through a county recorder's office. All current monthly data at the national, state, metro, city, ZIP code and neighborhood level can be accessed at www.zillow.com/local-info/ and www.zillow.com/research/data.

ⁱⁱEach week, a count of the number of single-family, condominium and cooperative housing units listed for sale on Zillow is taken. The median of these values within a month is calculated as the monthly value. Because inventory can be seasonal, a seasonally adjusted value is reported using a standard STL procedure. This seasonally adjusted series is then smoothed using a three-month rolling average. More information is available at www.zillow.com/research.

ⁱⁱⁱThe Zillow Home Value Index is the median estimated home value for a given geographic area on a given day and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. It is expressed in dollars, and seasonally adjusted.

^iv The Zillow Rent Index is the median Rent Zestimate® (estimated monthly rental price) for a given geographic area on a given day, and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums, cooperatives and apartments in Zillow's database, regardless of whether they are currently listed for rent. It is expressed in dollars.

SOURCE Zillow, Inc.