States with the Biggest Gains and Losses Revealed

The U.S. housing market is worth an estimated $55.1 trillion, per a new estimate from online real estate platform Zillow. That’s a gain of about 57%, or $20 trillion, since early 2020, just before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic sent housing values and costs on a rollercoaster.

Growth has slowed in the last year, Zillow found, as housing wealth rose by about $862 billion in the last year. An estimated 12.5%, or $2.5 trillion, of the surge in housing market value comes from new construction, while the rest is from appreciation of existing homes.

Which States and Cities Are Gaining or Losing the Most Value?

In the last year, New York, New Jersey, Illinois, and Pennsylvania have gained the most real estate value, with increases of $216 billion, $101 billion, $89 billion, and $73 billion, respectively.

Though Texas is one of the states that has gained the most in value since 2020, it’s lost about $32 billion in value over the last year, Zillow found. California and Florida, which also had some of the biggest gains since 2020, each lost just over $100 billion in value in the last 12 months.

Zillow also found that nine metro areas across the U.S. each have $1 trillion or more in housing market value: New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, Seattle, and San Diego. Taken together, these metros represent about a third (32%) of the country’s total value. New York powered much of the group’s gains in the last year, as the eight non-New York metros lost a total of $18 billion in value.

What Does That Mean for You?

Just over half of the housing market’s increasing value is coming from smaller cities, Zillow found.

Selling a property in an area outside a major housing market could be an easier decision if you stand to make larger profits. On the other hand, buying a property in a smaller metro area might be getting more expensive.

There is a glimmer of hope for those who are looking to buy a home, however. Slower growth in home values and shrinking mortgage rates (which have recently hit 11-month lows) could make housing more affordable for many Americans. Redfin recently projected this could happen by 2030.

The Bottom Line

The value of the American housing market boomed during the pandemic as construction slowed, making existing homes more valuable. The total market across the country is worth just over $55 trillion, according to Zillow, up $20 trillion since just before the start of the pandemic.

Recently, though, that growth has slowed and mortgage rates have started to move lower. Taken together, this could put buying a home within reach for more Americans.