Bay Area Housing: Is the Heat Off?

Oh, you just bought last year? At least you won't need a humidifier...

The news gets even worse for Bay Area homeowners. Zillow expects year-ahead home-value appreciation in the Bay Area to grow just 2.9 percent, not even meeting the company's national projection of 3 percent. 

Third-quarter inventory of Bay Area homes on the market jumped 20.2 percent from a year ago. Zillow tried to look at the upside of that development. 

"Home buyers who have been priced out of hot markets will welcome the cooling off," Zillow said. "Home values are still rising in most markets, but the rate of appreciation has slowed considerably, making the housing market less competitive for buyers." 

Homeowners are likely to feel the chill as more people decide to sell before the slowdown turns into price cuts. It's too late, Zillow says, noting that 37 percent of listings on its site nationally had at least one price cut in the past month. 

A slowdown in the growth of home values could prompt some people, who are waiting to put their homes on the market until prices move higher, to decide it's time to sell. But buyers may decide it's better to wait to see whether they can get a better price later. 

Zillow sought to put a positive spin on the slowdown in appreciation, saying the pullback quells fears the housing market was entering another bubble.

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