Real Estate News: Urban Home Values Surpass Suburban Home Values by 2%, Zillow Says

   The Home Values in the most top-tier urban metros in the United States is surpassing the home values in suburban areas by two percent, according to the latest Zillow Report.

                "This trend, in part, reflects home buyers' changing preferences, as they seek amenity-rich, dense and walkable areas that are often closer to their workplace," said Zillow Chief Economist, Dr. Svenja Gudell. "In the future, this lifestyle trend will change some suburbs as we know them, and they'll start to feel more urban as buyers move further from city centers in search of affordable housing in communities that still feel urban."

                While suburban homes in Nashville, Tennessee, Cincinnati, Ohio, and Richmond, Virginia have been stuck in common trend of being more expensive than homes in the urban areas, the urban regions of Boston, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco have recently broken the trend as their home values outpaced the mean value of homes in the suburban areas.

                According to the press release of Zillow in PR News Wire, urban homes have gained 7.5 percent in value nationally in 2015, while suburban homes grew 5.9 percent in values. The more expensive homes in urban areas, rather than the usual trend of suburban homes having a more expensive home value, reflects the demographic trends of millennials delaying family life and choosing condos, and of shifting preferences, as people want to find homes that are just a walk away from urban amenities.

                A surveyof how people define their own neighborhoods - as urban, rural, or suburban - was used by Zillow to base their analysis of urban and suburban home values. The survey used those places to extrapolate the results and define ZIP codes all over the country. By looking at home values within those areas, Zillow could see how home values have fared in each type of place over the years.

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