US home values are surging at their fastest pace since before the financial crisis

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Jeffrey Collé

• The median US home value rose 8.7% year-over-year in April to $215,600, the fastest increase since 2006, according to Zillow data.

• Las Vegas, Seattle, and San Jose, California, saw the biggest increases over the period.

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Homes in the US haven't been this valuable since before the financial crisis.

That's according to new data from Zillow, which finds the median US home value climbed 8.7% to $215,600 in April, the quickest year-over-year increase since June 2006.

While this is a bad sign for prospective buyers, it's positive for existing homeowners, because it opens up the possibility of a so-called cash-out refinance.

Such a transaction allows a person to replace his or her mortgage with a new home loan worth more than is owed on the house. The person then gets the difference in cash, which can be used for home improvements and other value-increasing activities.

Zillow notes that the historically high growth rate in home values is a culmination of an uptick that began more than three years ago.

"The current gain is part of a general upward trend that started in early 2015, when values were climbing at less than 5% year-over-year," Svenja Gudell, the chief economist of Zillow Group, wrote in a research note. "They picked up steam that summer and, aside from occasional pauses and slight declines, have not looked back."

Here's a breakdown of Zillow's data by market:

Fastest year-over-year home growth

1. San Jose, California — Up 26.2% to $1.26 million

2. Las Vegas — Up 16.5% to $260,800

3. Seattle — Up 13.6% to $490,000

Slowest year-over-year home growth

1. Baltimore — Up 4.4% to $262,700

2. Washington, DC — Up 4.5% to $398,900

3. Houston — Up 4.7% to $195,500

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Zillow

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