Decline in U.S. Home Values Smallest in Four Years, Zillow Says

U.S. home values probably will have their smallest decrease in four years in 2011 after the decline in property prices slowed, Zillow Inc. said today.

The total value of the country’s housing probably fell by more than $681 billion, about 35 percent less than the $1.1 trillion lost in 2010, the Seattle-based company said in a statement today. A projected decline of $227 billion from July to the end of this month compares with $454 billion lost in the first half of the year, according to Zillow.