U.S. homes collectively gained $3.1 trillion in value over the past year to reach a record total of $49.6 trillion, with another four cities joining the “trillion-dollar club” when it comes to aggregate home value, according to Redfin.
That’s an annual pickup of 6.6%, part of the nearly 120% jump in collective value (from $22.7 trillion in June 2014) that the housing market has gained in the past decade.
“The value of America’s housing market will likely cross the $50 trillion threshold in the next 12 months as there are not enough homes being listed to push prices down,” said Chen Zhao, economics research lead at Redfin. “Mortgage rates have started falling, but many potential sellers and buyers are waiting to make a move, meaning we are likely to continue seeing a pattern where prices slowly tick up.”
Home values remain on the rise because of the continued imbalance between supply and demand despite elevated rates and high prices keeping many homebuyers moored to the sidelines. The dearth of for-sale listings is keeping competition high for the buyers who are active on the market, pushing property prices up.
“That’s great news for the millions of American homeowners who see their equity rising,” Zhao continued, “but first-time buyers are going to keep finding it tough to find an affordable home.”
There are now eight cities nationwide where the aggregate home values exceed $1 trillion. New York still tops the list, with a collective home value of just under $2.5 trillion, followed by Los Angeles ($2.2 trillion), Atlanta ($1.3 trillion) and Boston ($1.3 trillion). Aggregate values in those four metros already topped $1 trillion last year. This year, they’re joined by Anaheim, California ($1.1 trillion); Chicago ($1.1 trillion); Washington, D.C. ($1.1 trillion); and Phoenix ($1 trillion).
San Diego ($987 billion) and Seattle ($971 billion) aren’t far behind. And San Francisco is at approximately $700 billion; when combined with Bay Area neighbors Oakland and San Jose, the combined market value of the area jumps close to $2.5 trillion. The combined Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex also crosses the $1 trillion mark when taken as a single statistical area.
New Jersey cities within commuting distance of New York, which offer relative affordability compared to the Big Apple, saw the largest annual jumps in aggregate value, led by New Brunswick with a 13.3% jump to $582.6 billion. Newark, New Jersey, wasn’t far behind, up 13.2% to reach $406.2 billion.
Notably, rural home values are rising the fastest, picking up 7% year over year to a collective $7.8 trillion. Suburban properties followed with a 6.8% annual gain to a collective $30.1 trillion, the first time that suburban home values have held an aggregate value over $30 trillion. Homes in urban areas reached $10.3 trillion in total value, a gain of 6%. There are roughly 21 million rural-area homes, 22 million urban-area homes, and 57 million homes in the suburbs, per Redfin’s figures.
