The housing market gained a record $6.9 trillion in 2021, nearly doubling what was previously the largest annual gain of $3.7 trillion in 2005. The full housing stock is now worth $43.4 trillion, according to Zillow.
Home value grew 19.6 percent last year, an all-time high for Zillow’s data, which stretches back more than 20 years. That means housing is now worth twice what it was a decade ago, during the Great Recession.
Zillow economists predict another strong year in 2022.
“Even in the context of a year in which several housing records were topped, the scale of the housing market’s growth in 2021 is eye-popping,” Zillow Senior Economist Jeff Tucker said in a release. “Not only did prices rise faster than ever, but more homes were built than in any year since 2007 as builders raced to meet demand. Skyrocketing home values may be celebrated by longtime homeowners but are daunting for those trying to buy their first home. This year is likely to be less competitive for buyers, but it will continue to be a sellers’ market.”
Nationally, the top one-third of highest-valued homes make up 60.8 percent of the total market value, while the lowest-valued one-third accounts for 12.8 percent.
More than one-fifth (21.3 percent) of the nation’s housing value is in California. The state’s housing stock gained $1.4 trillion in 2021 and is now worth $9.2 trillion. That’s more than the combined value of the bottom 30 states.
The housing market surpassed the $1 trillion milestone in four states last year: Colorado (now worth $1.2 trillion), North Carolina ($1.1 trillion), Georgia ($1 trillion) and Arizona ($1 trillion). There are now 14 states with more than $1 trillion in housing value, according to Zillow.
Florida, Texas and Colorado gained the most ground relative to the rest of the country in 2021. Florida’s share of the housing market grew from 6 percent in 2020 to 6.4 percent in 2021, while Texas’ share grew from 5.9 percent to 6.1 percent, and Colorado’s share grew from 2.6 percent to 2.8 percent.
New York lost more market share than any other state, falling from 7.8 percent of the market in 2020 to 7.3 percent last year.
Los Angeles–area homes gained more value than any other metro in 2021, but the New York metro area remains the nation’s largest housing market, worth $3.5 trillion. Los Angeles ($3.3 trillion), San Francisco ($2 trillion), Boston ($1.1 trillion) and Washington, D.C. ($1.1 trillion) round out the top five.