Housing stock value growth shows extent of US property market recovery
The total value of housing stock in the United States grew to a record high $29.6 trillion in 2016 with the market seen strong growth, according to the latest analysis report.
Overall the residential real estate market grew 5.7% or $1.6 trillion in value and regained what was lost during the economic crisis that followed the downturn of 2007.
The analysis from realm estate firm Zillow also shows that this is in marked contrast to what happened between 2006 and 2012 when the cumulative value of all homes in the US declined by $6.4 trillion.
Los Angeles and New York metros hold the highest shares of the country’s overall housing value at 8.6% and 8% respectively. The next most valuable metro is San Francisco worth 4.2% of the nation’s overall housing value.
However, while several markets are now more valuable than they were at the height of the housing bubble, about 60% of the markets in the US are still below the maximum values reached during the bubble years. For example, Chicago is still about $134 billion below the highest value it reached in 2006.
‘Housing is incredibly important to us personally and to the economy as a whole. The US housing stock is worth more than ever, which is a sign of the ongoing housing recovery,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell.
‘As buying a home gets more expensive, affordability remains a concern for many, and these numbers highlight just how much people are spending on housing. The total value of the housing stock grew nearly 6% in 2016, a pace that will likely mean some American families are priced out of home ownership,’ she added.
The report also shows that renters this year paid $478.5 billion, a $17.7 billion increase from 2015. About 635,000 new renter households formed in 2016, contributing to the amount of rent spent even as rent appreciation slowed.
Apartment renters spent nearly $50 billion more than renters of single family homes, as more multifamily construction became available this year.
Renters in the New York and Northern New Jersey metros paid the most this year, spending nearly $55 billion on rent
