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Bad news for prospective home buyers: The rapid appreciation in home values shows no sign of letting up.
Median home values increased 8.7% on average nationwide from April 2017 to $215,600, according to a new report from real-estate website Zillow That represents the faster pace of acceleration since June 2006 — right before the start of the housing crisis that triggered the Great Recession — when they rose 9% annually.
The usual suspects were once again at play in April, according to Zillow. The supply of housing in many cities has remained tight, thanks in part to the slow pace of new construction. Meanwhile, demand is strong as millennials shift away from renting and other Americans become more inclined to make a big purchase thanks to rising wages and recent tax cuts.
“Home values are rising faster than we’ve seen in a very long time,” Zillow senior economist Aaron Terrazas said in the report. “The spring home shopping season has been a perfect storm of strong demand and tight supply.”
San Jose, located in California’s Silicon Valley, led the country in terms of home value appreciation, with values rising 26% from last year to a median value of $1.26 million. Next was Las Vegas with 16.5% appreciation and Seattle with a 13.6% uptick.
| Metropolitan Area | Home Value Index | Year-Over-Year Change | Below Pre-Crisis Peak |
| United States | $215,600 | 8.7% | 0% |
| New York, N.Y. | $424,800 | 7.3% | -6.2% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. | $644,600 | 8.4% | 0% |
| Chicago, Ill. | $218,000 | 5.5% | -14.2% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | $225,100 | 11.2% | 0% |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | $225,300 | 5.8% | -5.1% |
| Houston, Texas | $195,500 | 4.7% | 0% |
| Washington, D.C. | $398,900 | 4.5% | -8.4% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | $269,100 | 7.5% | -13.6% |
| Atlanta, Ga. | $200,600 | 10.6% | 0% |
| Boston, Mass. | $449,000 | 6.5% | 0% |
| San Francisco, Calif. | $947,500 | 11.4% | 0% |
| Detroit, Mich. | $151,600 | 8.9% | -4.8% |
| Riverside, Calif. | $355,700 | 9.2% | -13.2% |
| Phoenix, Ariz. | $253,100 | 8.6% | -10.9% |
| Seattle, Wash. | $490,000 | 13.6% | 0% |
| Minneapolis-St Paul, Minn. | $258,700 | 7.8% | 0% |
| San Diego, Calif. | $585,600 | 8.4% | 0% |
| St. Louis, Mo. | $159,700 | 5.2% | 0% |
| Tampa, Fla. | $202,900 | 12.4% | -9.2% |
| Baltimore, Md. | $262,700 | 4.4% | -12.0% |
| Denver, Colo. | $399,200 | 8.8% | 0% |
| Pittsburgh, Pa. | $138,400 | 6.5% | 0% |
| Portland, Ore. | $389,100 | 6.2% | 0% |
| Charlotte, N.C. | $192,900 | 11.0% | 0% |
| Sacramento, Calif. | $398,300 | 7.8% | -5.9% |
| San Antonio, Texas | $182,800 | 5.7% | 0.0% |
| Orlando, Fla. | $223,700 | 10.1% | -15.6% |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | $157,200 | 5.1% | 0% |
| Cleveland, Ohio | $138,700 | 6.5% | -3.5% |
| Kansas City, Mo. | $177,800 | 8.5% | 0.0% |
| Las Vegas, Nev. | $260,800 | 16.5% | -17.7% |
| Columbus, Ohio | $180,000 | 9.2% | 0% |
| Indianapolis, Ind. | $149,200 | 6.6% | 0% |
| San Jose, Calif. | $1,263,900 | 26.2% | 0% |
| Austin, Texas | $293,100 | 5.3% | 0% |
Overall, 21 of the 35 largest housing markets have now surpassed the peak median home value set before the recession.
For renters, the story is a happier one. Rents only rose 2.5% year-over-year, maintaining the pace set back in September. That’s much better than a few years ago, when rental prices increased nearly 7% between 2014 and 2015.
Jacob Passy is a personal-finance reporter for MarketWatch and is based in New York.
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