Sellers Still Rule in Bay Area; Gaining Power in Denver, Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth

Zillow's latest analysis of the top housing markets for buyers and sellers found the hottest markets aren't just in California anymore

- The Bay Area is still home to the country's most competitive housing markets. Seattle, Denver, Portland, Nashville and Boston are also in the top 10.

- Buyers have more bargaining power in Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland and Miami - Zillow's top buyers' markets for the first quarter of 2015.

- The U.S. Zillow Home Value Index rose to $178,400 in the first quarter of 2015, up 3.9 percent year-over-year. Rents rose almost as fast, up 3.7 percent from a year ago.

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Zillow

Apr 22, 2015, 08:00 ET

SEATTLE, April 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Zillow's Spring analysis of buyers' and sellers' bargaining power in housing markets across the country found bidding wars and red hot prices in the Bay Area, but also in new hot markets outside California.

Denver, Seattle and Dallas-Fort Worth joined San Jose and San Francisco in the top 5 best markets for sellers.ⁱ Homes there are flying off the market at or above asking prices, giving sellers the upper hand. In sellers' markets, homes sell an average of 48 days faster than those for sale in buyers' markets.

On the other end of the spectrum, buyers will face less competition and have room to bargain on prices in the nation's top buyers' markets: Philadelphia, Chicago, Cleveland, and Miami. In buyers' markets, home shoppers can expect an average 3.9 percent discount off the final sale price. In sellers' markets, the average discount is less than 1 percent.

In Zillow's analysis, a sellers' market is not necessarily one where home values are rising, but one where homes sell quickly at prices very close to (or greater than) their listing price. In buyers' markets, homes are on the market longer, price cuts occur more frequently and sell for less than their asking price.

Top 10 Sellers' Markets		Top 10 Buyers' Markets
1	San Jose	1	Philadelphia
2	San Francisco	2	Chicago
3	Denver	3	Cleveland
4	Seattle	4	Miami-Fort Lauderdale
5	Dallas-Fort Worth	5	Providence
6	Los Angeles	6	Detroit
7	Portland	7	Tampa
8	Sacramento	8	Cincinnati
9	Nashville	9	Pittsburgh
10	Boston	10	Orlando

"In general, while the market remains more in sellers' favor, it is slowly tilting toward buyers this year, thanks to more inventory, slower home value gains and less competition from investors," said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. "But what's true in one market may not be true in others, and buyers and sellers will face different challenges and opportunities depending on local conditions. Sellers in buyers' markets should remain patient and take even small steps to make their home more attractive to buyers and help it stand out. Buyers in sellers' markets should never feel pressured to pay more than they're comfortable with and capable of."

Nationally, as expected, real estate markets are increasingly easy to get into, with home prices leveling off, giving hope to homebuyers who have fought low inventory and fast rising home values. The U.S. Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)ⁱⁱ was up 3.9 percent year-over-year for the first quarter of 2015, to $178,400. Home values are expected to grow 2.6 percent over the next year. ⁱⁱⁱ

Rents rose almost as much as home values over the last year, up 3.7 percent to $1,362 median monthly Zillow Rent Index (ZRI).^iv By the end of the year, Zillow expects growth in rents to outpace growth in home values.

Metro Area	Q1 2015 Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI)	Year-over-Year % Change in ZHVI	Q1 2016 Forecasted % Change	Q1 2015 Zillow Rent Index (ZRI)	Year-over-Year % Change in ZRI
United States	$178,400	3.9%	2.6%	$1,362	3.7%
New York – Northern New Jersey	$382,200	2.5%	1.0%	$2,355	1.8%
Los Angeles, CA	$534,300	3.7%	1.6%	$2,490	5.3%
Chicago, IL	$186,900	1.9%	1.0%	$1,604	-1.5%
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX	$157,900	10.6%	6.4%	$1,459	5.3%
Philadelphia, PA	$201,600	2.1%	1.3%	$1,562	2.6%
Houston, TX	$157,900	12.6%	4.6%	$1,508	6.1%
Washington, DC	$361,200	1.8%	0.7%	$2,108	1.9%
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL	$213,700	11.1%	1.4%	$1,789	2.6%
Atlanta, GA	$155,200	9.0%	4.0%	$1,244	4.7%
Boston, MA	$367,600	3.0%	2.4%	$2,179	5.3%
San Francisco, CA	$728,000	9.6%	5.1%	$3,129	14.8%
Detroit, MI	$114,000	5.0%	1.7%	$1,116	5.5%
Riverside, CA	$284,900	7.1%	5.7%	$1,674	4.5%
Phoenix, AZ	$202,500	5.1%	2.9%	$1,238	5.1%
Seattle, WA	$344,700	6.5%	5.5%	$1,850	5.8%
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN	$210,300	3.4%	2.4%	$1,513	-0.4%
San Diego, CA	$475,100	4.5%	2.1%	$2,323	5.1%
St. Louis, MO	$133,200	3.7%	3.5%	$1,142	4.3%
Tampa, FL	$149,500	8.3%	3.2%	$1,277	3.8%
Baltimore, MD	$244,100	1.9%	2.0%	$1,728	2.0%
Denver, CO	$291,500	14.3%	6.6%	$1,851	10.6%
Pittsburgh, PA	$124,500	2.0%	2.0%	$1,144	6.3%
Portland, OR	$281,400	4.9%	4.3%	$1,602	7.8%
Sacramento, CA	$336,800	7.4%	5.9%	$1,653	5.4%
San Antonio, TX	$147,600	5.4%	4.0%	$1,312	4.5%
Orlando, FL	$170,300	7.6%	3.6%	$1,314	1.8%
Cincinnati, OH	$137,600	3.8%	2.7%	$1,228	4.5%
Cleveland, OH	$120,300	1.2%	2.1%	$1,164	2.7%
Kansas City, MO	$138,500	4.0%	2.9%	$1,231	8.6%
Las Vegas, NV	$187,600	9.1%	5.4%	$1,198	2.0%
San Jose, CA	$863,800	12.1%	5.1%	$3,236	12.3%
Columbus, OH	$146,700	4.1%	3.7%	$1,257	2.4%
Charlotte, NC	$158,700	5.0%	2.7%	$1,252	6.8%
Indianapolis, IN	$130,100	-0.3%	3.9%	$1,198	1.1%
Austin, TX	$226,400	10.3%	4.3%	$1,681	6.6%

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 trademarks of Zillow, Inc.

ⁱ For the top 10, Zillow ranked the nation's 33 largest housing markets, and omitted the New York-Northern New Jersey metro area.
ⁱⁱ The 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.
ⁱⁱⁱ This expectation is based on the Zillow Home Value Forecast, which uses data from past home value trends and current market conditions, including leading indicators like home sales, months of housing inventory supply and unemployment, to predict home values over the next 12 months for the nation and for more than 250 markets across the country.
^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