U.S. home values increased 1.3 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter – the biggest quarterly gain since 2006, said service.
The report, issued Tuesday, said this was the biggest quarterly gain since March 2006, when home values rose 1.5 percent.
However, the report warned that the pace of recovery is uneven across the nation.
In Denver, said Zillow, home values rose 3.8 percent from the second quarter to the third quarter to $221,000 and increased 8.8 percent year-over-year.
The Zillow Home Value Index also rose on an annual basis, increasing 3.2 percent year-over-year to $153,800.
But the report said that the pace of recovery is uneven across markets as more metro areas showed decreasing quarterly values in the third quarter than in the second quarter as the home-buying season came to an end.
Zillow said that looking ahead, U.S. home values will increase 1.7 percent over the next year, and that 183 of the 253 markets covered by the forecast have hit bottom.
An additional 41 markets are expected to hit bottom in 2013.
“We’re likely to see home values fall back into the negative range in some markets due to the close of the traditional home-buying season,” said Dr. Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist. “While that doesn’t mean the recovery has come off the rails – in fact, most markets have hit bottom – it does present a confusing environment for consumers.”
Humphries said that looking forward he expects to see home values bump along the bottom for “some time, before increasing at a slow and steady pace.”
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939, hpankratz@denverpost.com or twitter.com/howardpankratz
