Published by Forbes.com | March 9, 2022
Nationwide, a record 8.2% of U.S. homes (6 million) were valued at $1 million or more in February, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin.
Nationwide, a record 8.2% of U.S. homes (6 million) were valued at $1 million or more in February, according to a new report from real estate brokerage Redfin. That’s up from 4.8% (3.5 million) two years earlier, just before the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.
The biggest share of million-dollar homes was in the Bay Area, with nearly nine out of 10 properties in both San Francisco and San Jose falling into the $1 million-plus category. Meanwhile, the biggest increase in prices was in Anaheim, California, where the share of homes worth at least $1 million nearly doubled to 55%.
Redfin notes that home values go up over time, so it makes sense that million-dollar homes would take up an increasingly large chunk of the housing stock. But their slice of the pie has grown to a greater extent during the pandemic amid a surge in home prices and buyer competition. Prices have skyrocketed because housing demand has far outpaced supply as scores of Americans have moved to take advantage of record-low mortgage rates and remote work.
“The surge in housing values has turned many homeowners into millionaires, but has pushed homeownership out of reach for a lot of other Americans. Incomes have increased, but not as fast as home prices, which means many people are stuck renting or have to move somewhere more affordable if they want to buy a home.”
–Taylor Marr, Redfin’s deputy chief economist
During the four weeks ending February 27, the number of homes for sale plummeted 50% from two years earlier to an all-time low of 456,000. That helped fuel a 33% rise in the median home sale price, which hit a record high of $363,975.
