Home values in the United States fell 1.1 percent quarter to quarter, decreasing 1.1 percent from November to December 2011, according to this month's Zillow Real Estate Market Reports. Annually, the Zillow Home Value Index fell 4.7 percent from December 2010 to $146,900.
In Colorado's metro areas, all areas except the Fort Collins metro area showed year-over-declines from December 2010 to December 2011. Grand Junction and Pueblo showed the largest drops while Boulder and Colorado Springs showed the smallest drops.
Greeley data was not included in the report.
Change from December 2010 to December 2011 (YOY percent change, home value):
Boulder -1.9 ($301,800)
Colo Springs -1.9 ($179,700)
Denver metro -2.2 ($203,400)
Ft. Collins +4.7 ($217,300)
Grand Junct -9.2 ($157,200)
Pueblo -5.6 ($101,700)
As can be seen in the graph, in recent years, home prices have shown the most stability in Boulder, Fort Collins and in Denver metro. These three areas also have the highest median estimated value, according to Zillow.
The Grand Junction area has showed the most bubble-like behavior in its run-up in prices in 2007 and 2008 before a significant decline over the past 2 years.
Zillow home valuations, known as the median "Zestimate valuation" should be taken with a grain of salt, but in this case they do appear to be in line with other home price indices and trends. The metro trends presented here match up well with the metro trends provided by FHFA's quarterly reports on home prices in Colorado.
