U.S. Housing Market Has Gained Back All $9 Trillion in Value Lost During Recession, BUT…

 …Uneven Recovery Means Some Markets Still Lag

 

The U.S. housing market has gained back all $9 trillion in value it lost when the market collapsed, but the uneven nature of the crisis and subsequent recovery has left many housing markets trailing behind, while others surge further ahead.

More than half of the nation’s largest housing markets have regained all of the value lost during the recession, with the typical U.S. home worth $55,200 more than it was at the bottom of the housing bust, according to a new Zillow® report.

When the housing bubble burst in 2007, home values plummeted, and the typical American home lost 23 percent of its value. Since then, national home values have returned to their previous level, but the recovery has not been the same in all regions of the country. West Coast markets have seen the strongest gains in home value, driven by healthy job growth and limited inventory exacerbated by limitations on new construction. The Sand States that saw the biggest losses when the housing market crashed have yet to fully recover.

The median home in both Las Vegas and San Jose lost about $190,000 during the housing crisis. However, the Las Vegas housing market was hit especially hard during the recession – that $190,000 equaled a 62 percent loss in value – and its recovery is still lagging, with home values only recovering $131,000 so far. In San Jose, homes have gained $615,100 in value since the crisis, more than three times what was lost.

“A decade after the financial crisis, the scars of the housing bust are still with us,” said Zillow Senior Economist Aaron Terrazas. “The gap between the metros with the strongest and weakest housing market recoveries is as wide as it has ever been. The California Bay Area’s housing recovery stands out when compared to other markets that saw similar home value appreciation because it has more than regained all of its lost value. Strong, high-paying job markets and persistently limited inventory sent prices skyrocketing, leading to the Bay Area having the most valuable housing markets in the country.”

Nationally, home values hit their lowest point in December 2012. Individual markets bottomed out between July 2011 and December 2012.

Markets That Have Gained the Most and Least Valuei since the Worst of the Housing Crisis
  Most Value Gained   Least Value Gained
1. San Jose – $615,100 1. Indianapolis – $19,400
2. San Francisco – $435,700 2. St. Louis – $22,100
3. Los Angeles – $248,000 3. Cleveland – $25,200
4. San Diego – $217,500 4. Pittsburgh – $29,000
5. Seattle – $206,400 5. Cincinnati – $29,600

Denver home values fell just over 9 percent during the housing crisis, less than half of what the typical American home lost in value, largely because the Denver housing market never experienced much of a boom during the bubble years. As Denver has emerged as a popular tech hub over the past decade, its home values have climbed rapidly. The median home in Denver is worth $379,500, about 61 percent more than the highest value reached during the mid-2000s bubble.

Metropolitan
Area
When
Market Hit
Bottom
Value
Lost (%)
Difference
Between
Current
Value and
Bubble
Peak (%)
Difference
Between
Current
Value and
Crisis Low
(%)
Value
Lost ($)
Difference
Between
Current
Value and
Bubble
Peak ($)
Difference
Between
Current
Value and
Crisis Low
($)
United States December
2011
-23.1% 4.9% 36.5% -$45,500 $9,700 $55,200
New
York/Northern
New Jersey
June 2012 -24.3% -3.5% 27.5%
$108,200
-$15,400 $92,800
Los Angeles-
Long Beach-
Anaheim, CA
February
2012
-36.5% 4.5% 64.5%
$220,600
$27,400 $248,000
Chicago, IL March 2012 -33.5% -13.4% 30.3% -$82,800 -$33,000 $49,800
Dallas-Fort
Worth, TX
October
2011
-10.1% 47.0% 63.5% -$15,100 $70,300 $85,400
Philadelphia,
PA
June 2012 -17.2% -3.3% 16.8% -$39,700 -$7,700 $32,000
Houston, TX December
2011
N/A N/A 47.8% N/A N/A $60,000
Washington,
DC
January/
February
2012
-27.5% -9.8% 24.4%
$117,800
-$42,100 $75,700
Miami-Fort
Lauderdale, FL
November
2011
-54.7% -14.1% 89.9%
$167,400
-$43,000 $124,400
Atlanta, GA April 2012 -33.0% 6.9% 59.6% -$57,500 $12,100 $69,600
Boston, MA February/

March 2012

-19.3% 14.7% 42.2% -$74,000 $56,400 $130,400
San Francisco,
CA
February
2012
-32.1% 30.1% 91.7%
$225,000
$210,700 $435,700
Detroit, MI December
2011/January 2012
-51.7% -8.1% 90.3% -$81,300 -$12,800 $68,500
Riverside, CA November
2011
-54.1% -15.7% 83.6%
$218,900
-$63,700 $155,200
Phoenix, AZ August 2011 -53.8% -10.5% 93.8%
$147,300
-$28,700 $118,600
Seattle, WA November
2011
-31.2% 23.0% 78.9%
$118,900
$87,500 $206,400
Minneapolis-
St Paul, MN
January 2012 -31.5% 3.3% 50.8% -$75,800 $7,900 $83,700
San Diego, CA October
2011
-36.1% 4.0% 62.6%
$196,000
$21,500 $217,500
St. Louis, MO April 2012 -19.0% -5.1% 17.2% -$30,200 -$8,100 $22,100
Tampa, FL November/

December
2011

-49.0% -9.8% 76.7%
$105,000
-$21,100 $83,900
Baltimore, MD February
2012
-23.1% -9.7% 17.4% -$66,800 -$28,100 $38,700
Denver, CO July 2011 -9.4% 60.9% 77.6% -$22,200 $143,600 $165,800
Pittsburgh, PA July 2009 1.8% 28.6% 26.3% $1,900 $30,900 $29,000
Portland, OR January 2012 -27.2% 27.4% 74.9% -$79,700 $80,300 $160,000
Charlotte, NC December
2011
-14.8% 18.2% 38.7% -$23,000 $28,200 $51,200
Sacramento,
CA
March 2012 -50.3% -9.2% 82.7%
$211,300
-$38,700 $172,600
San Antonio,
TX
December
2011
N/A N/A 37.3% N/A N/A $45,800
Orlando, FL December
2011
-52.8% -16.3% 77.3%
$135,400
-$41,700 $93,700
Cincinnati, OH June/July
2012
-12.0% 8.4% 23.3% -$17,400 $12,200 $29,600
Cleveland, OH January 2012 -23.1% -5.8% 22.5% -$33,600 -$8,400 $25,200
Kansas City,
MO
December
2012
-17.9% 4.1% 26.9% -$28,600 $6,600 $35,200
Las Vegas, NV November
2011
-62.0% -19.1% 113.2%
$189,100
-$58,100 $131,000
Columbus, OH January 2012 -13.8% 15.4% 33.9% -$20,400 $22,800 $43,200
Indianapolis,
IN
February/

April 2012

-9.8% 4.4% 15.8% -$13,400 $6,000 $19,400
San Jose, CA January 2012 -25.3% 57.2% 110.5%
$188,500
$426,600 $615,100
Austin, TX November
2011
N/A N/A 61.6% N/A N/A $106,800

Zillow

Zillow is the leading real estate and rental marketplace dedicated to empowering consumers with data, inspiration and knowledge around the place they call home, and connecting them with the best local professionals who can help. In addition, Zillow operates an industry-leading economics and analytics bureau led by Zillow’s Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell. Dr. Gudell and her team of economists and data analysts produce extensive housing data and research covering more than 450 markets at Zillow Real Estate Research. Zillow also sponsors the quarterly Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey, which asks more than 100 leading economists, real estate experts and investment and market strategists to predict the path of the Zillow Home Value Index over the next five years. Launched in 2006, Zillow is owned and operated by Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:Z and ZG), and headquartered in Seattle.

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