For the first time since 2006, home values posted an annual gain of 6 percent, according to the July Zillow Real Estate Market Reports.
As home values rose for their 14th straight month in July, the median home value hit $161,600, Zillow reported.
“After three straight months of annual home value appreciation above 5 percent, the U.S. housing market recovery has proven it is on very sound footing,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “We have entered a new phase in the recovery when we can begin to turn away from ugly recent history and turn toward what the housing market of the future will look like and how it will act.”