Nationally, median rent rose 2.4 percent ($34) year-over-year to reach $1,472 a month in February.
Many of the country’s largest metro areas posted modest year-over-year gains of less than 3 percent in both January and February. The fastest gainer in both months was Orlando, Fla., where the median rent rose 7.4 percent year-over-year in January and 7 percent in February. Phoenix was not far behind, climbing 6.2 percent in January and 6.8 percent in February. The third fastest-growing market was Riverside, Calif., climbing 6.1 percent year-over-year in January and 6.2 percent in February.
New York renters have yet to see an effect from Amazon’s decision to not build a new headquarters in Long Island City. Its rent prices, along with those in Washington, D.C., and Nashville – two markets where Amazon still intends to build large office spaces – have largely followed national trends since the November announcement.
The priciest major metro in the country remains San Jose, Calif., at $3,547 in February, up 1.4 percent from a year earlier. It’s followed by San Francisco at $3,448 a month (up 1.6 percent), Los Angeles at $2,835 a month (up 3.5 percent), San Diego at $2,643 a month (up 4.2 percent) and New York at $2,419 (up 1.2 percent).
The lowest rent prices among major metros in February were Pittsburgh at $1,100 a month (up 4.9 percent), St. Louis at $1,155 a month (up 1.6 percent), Cleveland at $1,162 a month (up 1.7 percent), Detroit at $1,225 a month (up 2.3 percent) and Indianapolis at $1,234 a month (up 2.7 percent).
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Home values nationally continue to soar – up 7.2 percent in February from the prior year. That’s slightly below January’s year-over-year growth rate of 7.8 percent but remains a strong clip, putting the median U.S. home value at $226,300.
Four major metros posted double-digit annual growth in February, led by Indianapolis, which climbed 12.8 percent to $165,600. It was followed by Atlanta, up 11.1 percent year-over-year to $218,600; Las Vegas, up 10.5 percent to $279,600; and Dallas-Fort Worth, up an even 10 percent to $244,400.
The priciest large markets in February featured the usual West Coast lineup – and also happen to be the only major markets without month-over-month appreciation: San Jose at an eye-popping $1.23 million (up 3.3 percent year-over-year), San Francisco at $955,200 (up 3.5 percent), Los Angeles at $652,200 (up 2.5 percent), San Diego at $590,500 (up 2.1 percent) and Seattle at $491,500 (up 3 percent).
The list of least expensive major markets for home values is the same as for rents, but in a different order: Pittsburgh at $144,400 (up 5.2 percent year-over-year), Cleveland at $146,300 (up 6.2 percent), Detroit at $161,300 (up 8.2 percent), Indianapolis at $165,600 (up 12.8 percent) and St. Louis at $167,100 (up 5.4 percent).
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Inventory picks up steam
After starting the year on a strong note for buyers, inventory climbed even faster in February – albeit still at a modest 1 percent from a year earlier – an increase of 16,137 homes for a total of 1.6 million listings.
Mortgage rates listed on Zillow were mostly flat in February. Rates ended February at 4.16 percent, down one basis point from the start of the month.
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