US home prices see biggest jump since ’05: Zillow

U.S. home prices jumped $1.9 trillion in total value in 2013 — the biggest increase seen since 2005 – signifying a robust recovery since the recession, according to new data from Zillow.

The nation’s housing stock will be worth about $25.7 trillion by the end of the year, the Zillow data show. Home prices declined a whopping $6.3 trillion between 2007 and 2011, but recovered 44 percent of that in the last two years, as the improving job market brought in more buyers and tighter inventory bumped prices up.

“The housing market continued to build on the positive momentum that began in 2012,” Stan Humphries, Zillow’s chief economist, said in a statement to Bloomberg News. “Low mortgage rates and an improving economy helped bring buyers into the market.”

Price increases will slow down in 2014, Humphries predicted, closer to the historic norm of three to five percent. [Bloomberg News] – Hiten Samtani