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In a growing number of markets across the country, owning a home can make you a millionaire.
That’s according to a new report from Redfin
RDFN,
which projects the number of homes nationwide that are now worth $1 million or more. Thanks to skyrocketing home prices in today’s hot real-estate market, the number has nearly doubled since the start of the pandemic.
As of February, Redfin estimates that 8.2% of homes nationwide are valued at $1 million or higher, which equates to some 6 million properties. That’s up from 3.5 million homes, or 4.8% of the nation’s housing stock, two years earlier.
The analysis was based on Redfin’s Housing Value Index, which incorporates public records, data from the multiple-listing service and Redfin’s proprietary home value estimates. The analysis incorporated historical data for more than 85 million properties nationwide, including single-family homes, condos, townhouses and other multifamily properties.
The stunning surge in the number of houses worth seven figures or more underscores the challenges prospective home buyers face. “The surge in housing values has turned many homeowners into millionaires, but has pushed homeownership out of reach for a lot of other Americans,” Redfin deputy chief economist Taylor Marr said in the report.
“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,” Marr added.
The marked rise in home values above the $1 million mark was most acutely felt in California, where seven of the top 10 markets with the highest share of these homes are located. Anaheim saw the largest jump in the share of these properties. As of February, over 55% of homes in the city where Disneyland is located were worth at least $1 million, up from roughly 27% two years earlier.
San Francisco had the highest percentage of homes worth at least $1 million, followed by San Jose. Outside of California, the markets with the largest share of these ultra-expensive houses were Honolulu, Seattle and New York.
Meanwhile, across the South, Midwest and Rust Belt regions, homes with values of $1 million or more are very much a rarity. In cities like El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio and Detroit, fewer than 0.5% of properties were worth that much.
