While the annual pace of U.S. home value growth dipped in August, existing home sales experienced solid growth, according to data from the National Association of Realtors. 

Existing home sales in July increased 1.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million in August — which is its highest level since March 2018. The growth is up 2.6 percent from 2018. 

In contrast, annual home value growth continued its slow decline. The median U.S. home value grew by 4.9 percent year-over-year in August to $229,600, according to Zillow Research. August was the eighth month in a row in which U.S. home values grew more slowly year-over-year than in the month prior. It also was the first month since August 2015 in which annual growth failed to top 5 percent.

Although annual growth has been slowing, Zillow researchers point out that quarterly growth is picking up. Quarterly growth reached an annualized rate of 3.4 percent in August, which is an uptick from 0.4 percent in May. The data suggest that the market may be re-energizing even as annual growth continues to slow down.

At the end of August, total housing inventory dropped 2.1 percent from July to 1.86 million — a 2.6 percent decrease from 1.91 million in August 2018.

A bright spot for some real estate investors is that new home sales posted a significant boost. New home sales increased 7.1 percent from July to August, and a whopping 18 percent from August 2018, to 713,000 sales, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Zillow research pointed to positive trends in home construction, low mortgage rates and a strong labor market as buttressing forces behind the new home sale trends.

As new home sales increased significantly, the rate of fix-and-flip home sales dropped, according to a report from ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2019 U.S. Home Flipping Report. Homes flipped in the second quarter were down 5.2 percent from 2018.  Home flips in the second quarter comprised only 5.9 percent of all home sales during the quarter.

Check out the table below from Zillow Research for more information on home value trends.

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  • Bobby Burch

    Bobby Burch is the Founder of Bobby Burch Creative, a small business storytelling studio. Learn more about bobbyburchphotography.com and contact him at bobbyburchcreative@gmail.com

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