The U.S. housing market gained nearly $2.5 trillion in value in 2020, the most in a single year since 2005, according to an analysis by Zillow.
Zillow said the U.S. housing market is worth $36.2 trillion.
“[Last year] was a record-breaking year for the housing market with intense competition among buyers driving up home prices,” Zillow Economist Treh Manhertz said in a release. “While many faced financial hardships because of the pandemic, others fortunate enough to maintain stable income took a step back to contemplate what they wanted their home to be and hopped on Zillow to help find a place that filled their wish list.”
“Builder confidence, perhaps in reaction to the boosted demand, hit record highs and more homes are being built as a result,” Manhertz added. “Add that together and you see why the housing market gained more than in any year since the Great Recession.”
According to the analysis, more than a fifth (21.4 percent) of the nation’s housing value resides in California. Zillow said homes in California are worth a cumulative $7.8 trillion, more than the next three states combined, and the state boasts four of the 10 metro areas (Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose and San Diego) with the highest total housing value.
The states with the smallest shares of the U.S. housing market were North Dakota ($64 billion), Wyoming ($70 billion) and South Dakota ($72 billion), Zillow found. Alaska was the only state where the housing stock lost value in 2020, down 1.8 percent or about $1.5 billion.
Over the past decade, Zillow said the total value of the housing stock has more than doubled in six states. Those states are Idaho (149 percent increase); Nevada (146.3 percent); Utah (126.2 percent); Arizona (116.5 percent); Colorado (111.6 percent); and Washington (108 percent).
Zillow said the New York metro area holds the most housing value (3.1 trillion), followed by Los Angeles ($2.8 trillion) and San Francisco ($1.7 trillion). Los Angeles' housing stock grew the most last year, up $262 billion.