Home prices have doubled in less than ten years in 68 of America’s 100 largest cities, a sobering new study shows.
And in some major American cities, the cost of the average property has doubled in just five years.
In Detroit, home prices were half of what they are now in 2019, data of the real estate market Point2 reveals.
Home prices in Miami and Tampa, Florida, have doubled since 2018, as have in Baltimore, Maryland, and Spokane, Washington.
Buyers in Irvine, California, the most expensive housing market in the study, have seen median home prices double from an already high $750,000 to $1.5 million in just seven years.
A storm of high inflation and interest rates, tight supply and rising demand has meant the national median house price has risen to around double what it was a decade ago.
The cost of the average home in the United States has increased from about $200,000 to about $400,000.
According to Point2, a common theory about home appreciation is that residential properties tend to double in value in about 10 years.
In the so-called ‘Motor City’ of Detroit, one of the reasons home prices have doubled in half this time period is because they have been historically low compared to the national average.
Home prices in the city have been among the fastest growing in the United States in recent years, as the city recovers from the mortgage crisis that left some homes virtually worthless.
Less than two decades ago, one in five homes sat empty in the city, as foreclosures surged and properties on deserted streets sold for $1.
The crisis and the disappearance of the large automobile manufacturers, which had previously turned Detroit into an industrial power, drove millions of people from their homes.
But as the auto industry – this time focusing on electric vehicles – begins to accelerate again, housing prices have risen rapidly.
Home prices in Detroit have been among the fastest growing in the United States in recent years, as the city recovers from the mortgage crisis that left some homes virtually worthless.
In early 2019, you could buy a house in Detroit for $40,000, according to Point2.
Now, according to the listing website real estate agent.comThe median listing price for a home in the city is $89,900.
Despite short-term price increases, Detroit remains among the most affordable cities in the United States.
Detroit was lagging behind other cities in terms of home price growth, according to CoreLogic chief economist Selma Hepp, so some of this growth is catching up.
Similarly, data shows that prices also quickly doubled in Spokane, where not long ago, in March 2018, a home cost just $184,500, compared to $371,000 today.
Spokane has seen housing prices rise as Americans moved to the city amid investor interest and urban revitalization efforts.
And some people who fled to so-called pandemic “boom cities,” such as Boise, Portland and Austin, later moved to Spokane in search of cheaper housing, which has driven up prices even further.
Prices also quickly doubled in Spokane, where not long ago, in March 2018, a home cost just $184,500 compared to $371,000 today.
According to Point2, home prices have accelerated equally dramatically in Miami, as well as Tampa, amid a surge of new residents.
The last six years were enough for housing costs to double to about half a million dollars in both cities.
Prices in Florida’s five largest markets, including Jacksonville, Orlando and St. Petersburg, have doubled in just six to eight years.
Arizona is in a similar position, with seven big cities doubling their prices in six to seven years.
Prices doubled in affluent Scottsdale, where the median home costs $837,500 compared to $416,000 at the end of 2017.
Phoenix has also seen a rise in home prices, which local incomes can barely keep up with.
Home prices have risen sharply in Miami amid a surge of new residents
Home prices in Tampa, Florida have doubled in the last six years according to Point2
It comes as separate data shows the US housing market gained a whopping $2 trillion in value in the last year alone, amid a historic shortage of homes for sale.
Rising mortgage rates mean many Americans trapped in lower deals have been left sitting still, leading to significant inventory shortages.
This, in turn, has meant that home values have continued to rise, leaving many Americans out of the market entirely.
While mortgage rates had been slowly declining in the early months of this year, the average 30-year fixed-rate deal is starting to rise again.
Following data released earlier this week that showed inflation remains persistent, the average 30-year mortgage contract rose to 6.88 percent, according to government-backed lender Freddie Mac.