Want more housing market stories from Lance LambertsResiClubin your inbox?Subscribeto the ResiClubnewsletter.This week, Zillow economists announced they expect U.S. home prices, as measured by the Zillow Home Value Index, to rise 2.9% between October 2024 and October 2025.This is an upward revision to our outlook from last month. Opposing forces are working to keep home values climbing, but only at a modest pace. Inventory remains very low by historical standards, which, paired with expectations for declining mortgage rates and modest improvements in other leading indicators of home sales, is helping to buoy home value appreciation, wrote Zillow economists. At the same time, modest increases in new for-sale listings and persistently high mortgage rates are combining to limit price growth.While Zillow economists predict a 2.9% increase in national home prices over the next year, they only expect a gradual increase in existing home sales in the coming year, with an estimated 4.3 million sales in 2025, up slightly from the 4.1 million transactions recorded in 2023 and 4 million projected for 2024.Among the 400 largest U.S. housing markets, Zillow expects the strongest home price appreciation between October 2024 and October 2025 to occur in these 10 areas.Atlantic City, NJ: +6.5%Kingston, NY: +6.1%Augusta, ME: +6.1%Pottsville, PA: +5.9%Knoxville, TN: +5.8%Vineland, NJ: +5.7%Lewiston, ME: +5.7%Concord, NH: +5.6%Bangor, ME: +5.3%Muncie, IN: +5.3%Meanwhile, Zillow expects the weakest home price appreciation between October 2024 and October 2025 to occur in these 10 housing markets.Lake Charles, LA: -7.8%Houma, LA: -5.8%Lafayette, LA: -4.0%Johnstown, PA: -3.9%New Orleans, LA: -3.8%Eureka, CA: -3.4%Beaumont, TX: -3.1%Odessa, TX: -3.0%Shreveport, LA: -2.9%Hammond, LA: -2.9%While Zillow expects home prices in Florida to rise over the coming year, some housing analysts remain skeptical. After all, Florida has experienced a significant increase in active inventory and months of supply this year, which could signal potential pricing weakness. Indeed, condo prices are currently declining in most Florida housing markets. And some Southwest markets, such as Punta Gorda and Cape Coral, are also seeing outright declines in single-family home prices.