Tag Archives: Zillow

In the nation’s largest cities, a median income is not sufficient to purchase a median-priced home. In fact, even households with two median incomes cannot afford median-priced homes in the 40 largest cities in the United States, according to a Redfin survey released last week. Redfin’s findings concur with data from Zillow revealing median-income earners in Southern California cannot afford more than half of homes for sale in their market.

Recovery in the housing market is not without its side effects, particularly in major metro markets on the West Coast and in Florida. A look into 35 major markets by Zillow reveals that buyers making the median income in Southern California, the Bay Area, Portland (Oregon), Denver, and Miami face markets where more than half the available homes are beyond their price range—which could mean the beginning of a new housing bubble.

On the same day that Move, Inc., filed suit over the hiring of former executive Errol Samuelson, Zillow announced the addition of Curt Beardsley, another former Move alum.

Move, Inc. filed a suit Monday against Zillow, Inc. and newly hired Zillow executive Errol Samuelson. The suit was filed in the Superior Court of King County, Washington.

A look at buyers' and sellers' markets around the country from Zillow shows that the better job market in the West is drawing more buyers and driving up competition for homes in more economically stable cities, thus giving sellers the upper hand in home sales negotiations in western metro areas. Meanwhile, leverage for buyers is strongest in cities in the East and Midwest, where less competition for homes will likely give them more room for bargaining on prices.

In 19 of 20 large metros surveyed by Zillow and Pulsenomics, more than 5.0 percent of local residents indicated they wanted to buy a home in the next year, with current renters showing the greatest interest in ownership. While this optimistic total from Zillow suggests interest is high, actually purchasing a home should prove to be a challenge in the upcoming year.

Realtor.com’s former president has been recruited to put his expertise to work as chief industry development officer at Zillow, the company announced. Errol Samuelson has more than 20 years’ experience in technology and real estate, starting as president of Realtor.com in February 2007 after joining its parent company, Move, Inc., in 2003. In 2013, he was appointed chief strategy officer at Move.

For the first time in years, the national negative equity rate dipped below 20 percent to close out 2013, Zillow revealed Friday in its quarterly Negative Equity Report. According to the company’s stats, negative equity declined to 19.4 percent nationally as of the end of last quarter, bringing the underwater rate down more than 8 percentage points over the course of 2013.

A report released Thursday by Zillow shows national home values rose just 0.2 percent in January from December. Inventory rose in 22 of the nation’s 35 largest metros, explaining some of the slowdown in home value gains. Year-over-year, home values rose 6.3 percent in January, down from previous gains of 7.1 percent as recently as August 2013. Home values are expected to rise another 3.4 percent to $175,301 in the next 12 months.

A majority of experts surveyed by Zillow and Pulsenomics expect large-scale investors will pull out of the housing market in the next few years--and that hopefully means a smoother field for consumer buyers. While their withdrawal will most certainly affect today's still-fragile market--79 percent of those surveyed said the impact would be ""significant or somewhat significant""--Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries says it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen to housing.