November home values offer hopes for 2012 market recovery

Home values remained level in November but showed considerable improvement over the same period in 2010, according to the Real Estate Market Report from analytics firm Zillow. U.S. home values fell by a marginal 0.1 percent in November, while the Zillow Home Value Index decreased 4.6 percent from the previous year to reach $147,800 - on par with late 2003 levels. On a regional level, home values appreciated or remained level in 60 percent of the 165 housing markets studied, compared to a mere 24 percent last year. "Overall, we are seeing encouraging signs in housing data such as sequential months of slowing depreciation rates, stabilizing markets and organic improvement in value trends, largely in the absence of government policy intervention," said Zillow chief economist Dr. Stan Humphries. The findings bode well for the U.S. housing sector, which has struggled with over-supply and high foreclosure rates since before the economic downturn. The resulting scourge of demand has affected other industries as well, the most notable being construction. Analyst estimate more than 2 million construction jobs have been lost since the recession began.