The total value of homes gained $3.1 trillion over the past 12 months to reach a record $49.6 trillion, according to a new report from Redfin.
In percentage terms, the total value of the U.S. housing market grew 6.6 percent year-over-year. The total value of homes has more than doubled in the past decade, climbing nearly 120 percent from $22.7 trillion in June 2014, the report stated.
“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,” Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao said. “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. That’s great news for the millions of American homeowners who see their equity rising, but first-time buyers are going to keep finding it tough to find an affordable home.”
New construction was another factor driving the overall increase in market valuation. Redfin’s analysis examined the estimate for roughly 97.6 million homes, compared to 96.8 million homes a year earlier.
According to the Redfin report, 13 major metros posted double-digit percentage gains in total property value over the last year, led by relatively affordable New Jersey metros within commuting distance of New York, where property is more expensive. The value of properties in New Brunswick, N.J., rose 13.3 percent to $582.6 billion, while Newark, N.J., climbed 13.2 percent to $406.2 billion. Anaheim, Calif. (up 12.1 percent to $1.1 trillion), Charleston, S.C. (up 11.8 percent to $188.9 billion) and New Haven, Conn. (up 11.8 percent to $91 billion) rounded out the five metros with the highest gains.
Cape Coral, Fla., was the only metro to record a fall in total home value, dropping 1.6 percent to $204.2 billion, the report stated. Sun Belt metros — especially those in Texas — grew slower than those in other regions, with New Orleans (up 0.8 percent to $128.2 billion), Austin, Texas (up 1.9 percent to $392.8 billion), North Port, Fla. (up 2.1 percent to $251.8 billion) and Fort Worth, Texas (up 2.3 percent to $293.7 billion) rounding out the bottom five metros.
The number of metros where the total value of homes topped $1 trillion grew to eight — doubling from four a year ago — with Anaheim, Calif., Chicago, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., joining New York, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Boston in the trillion-dollar club. San Diego and Seattle look like they will join them in the next 12 months if home values keep increasing at a similar pace, the report said.
While San Francisco’s aggregate home value is roughly $700 billion, when combined with neighbors Oakland, Calif., and San Jose, Calif., the combined Bay Area housing market is worth nearly $2.5 trillion, the report stated. Likewise, the combined Dallas ($734 million) and Fort Worth, Texas, ($294 million) metro area also surpasses the $1 trillion mark.
Rural home values outpaced those in urban areas and the suburbs, jumping 7 percent year-over-year to $7.8 trillion, the report said. The total value of homes in urban areas rose 6 percent to $10.3 trillion, while the value of homes in the suburbs cracked the $30 trillion mark for the first time, increasing 6.8 percent to $30.1 trillion.
There are around 57 million homes in the suburbs, compared to 22 million in urban areas and 21 million in rural areas.
The total value of homes owned by millennials rose 21.5 percent year-over-year to $8.6 trillion in the first quarter of 2024 — the most recent period for which generational data is available —nearly four times as fast as any other generation, the report stated.
The increase is partly due to the overall growth in home prices, but also because millennials are now the largest generation by population and have reached an age and financial position where they make up a larger share of the homebuying market, the report found. Around two-thirds of the mortgages taken out in 2023 were issued to homebuyers under the age of 45.
The total value of homes owned by the Silent Generation fell for the fifth straight quarter, dropping 1.6 percent to $4.6 trillion. The value of homes owned by baby boomers increased 6.1 percent to $19 trillion, while Gen X home values rose 5.9 percent to $13.6 trillion.
After falling in 2022-2023, the total value of homes in neighborhoods that are majority Asian bounced back over the past 12 months, rising 9 percent to $1.4 trillion, the report said. The increased value caused by price growth in West Coast cities — where many Asian neighborhoods are located.
In comparison, majority white neighborhoods experienced a 6.6 percent increase in value to $39.4 trillion, while majority Black neighborhoods saw a 5.4 percent increase in value to $1.4 trillion. The value of homes in majority Hispanic neighborhoods increased 6.4 percent to $2 trillion, the report stated.