U.S. Housing Market Nears $50 Trillion in Value, Redfin Finds

(Illustration courtesy of Redfin)

The total value of U.S homes gained $3.1 trillion over the past 12 months to reach a record $49.6 trillion, according to a new report from Redfin, Seattle.

In percentage terms, the total value of the U.S. housing market grew 6.6% year over year, Redfin found.

Zooming out further, the total value of U.S. homes has more than doubled in the past decade, up from $22.7 trillion in June 2014.

“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 noted. “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. The analysis examined the Redfin Estimate for more than 97 million homes, compared to 96.8 million homes a year earlier.

Redfin found 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% to $582.6 billion, while Newark, N.J. climbed 13.2% to $406.2 billion. Anaheim, Calif. (up 12.1% to $1.1 trillion), Charleston, S.C. (up 11.8% to $188.9 billion) and New Haven, Conn. (up 11.8% 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% to $204.2 billion. “Sun Belt metros–especially those in Texas–grew slower than those in other regions,” the report said.