There’s a split emerging in the U.S. housing market: Some are becoming more valuable than ever, while others struggle to emerge from the financial crisis.
More than half of the homes nationwide are now more valuable than their pre-recession peaks, according a report released Thursday by real-estate website Zillow ZG, -0.02%[1] The national median home value is now $217,300, an increase of 8.3% on the year and 8.4% above the bubble-era peak. In 21 of the nation’s 35 largest markets, the median home value is now at an all-time high.
Driving much of the home value appreciation nationwide is a reduction in the number of homes available on the market. Inventory contracted 4.8% over the past year. Indeed, the tight supply of homes for sale has contributed to what some have called the most competitive home buying season [2]on record.
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Some markets have rebounded faster than others post-recession. In seven of the country’s largest housing markets — Dallas-Ft. Worth, Seattle, Denver, San Antonio, San Jose, Austin and Portland, Ore. — more than 95% of homes are worth more than the pre-housing boom peak.
Denver has experienced a particularly notable rebound: The median value is now $397,700, or 65.5% higher than its previous peak in 2006, and more than 99% of homes are more valuable than they were in the bubble years.
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| Metropolitan area | Share of homes worth more than pre-recession peak | Median home value (June 2018) | Year-over-year change in home value |
| United States | 50.4% | $217,300 | 8.3% |
| New York, N.Y. | 28.5% | $429,300 | 6.7% |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif. | 64.4% | $646,300 | 7.6% |
| Chicago, Ill. | 14.6% | $220,400 | 5.8% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas | 97.7% | $229,400 | 11.6% |
| Philadelphia, Pa. | 35.9% | $228,100 | 5.9% |
| Houston, Texas | 97% | $198,600 | 5.8% |
| Washington, D.C. | 22.1% | $399,500 | 4.2% |
| Miami-Fort Lauderdale, Fla. | 9.6% |