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Housing market value leaps in 2020, makes 15-year gains

U.S. housing stock gained $2.5 trillion in value in 2020 alone, the most in any year since 2005. Record-setting added value is credited to strong demand and intense buyer competition, homes spending very little time on the market and pushing prices higher.

Last year was a record-setting year for the housing market. In 2020, strong demand drove intense competition among buyers, causing homes to fly off the market at record-speed and pushing prices higher, according to a report by Zillow.

Housing demand was already strong coming into the year with the large Millennial generation aging into prime first-time home-buying age and mortgage rates hovering near record lows.

The widespread shift to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic prompted many to reevaluate their housing options and supercharged demand. 

More than a fifth (21.4 percent) of the nation’s housing value resides in California, the report said. Homes in California are worth a cumulative $7.8 trillion, more than the next three states combined.

North Dakota ($64 billion), Wyoming ($70 billion) and South Dakota ($72 billion), three of the least-populous states, have the smallest shares of the U.S. housing market.

Alaska was the only state where the housing stock lost value in 2020, down 1.8 percent (around $1.5 billion). This was caused by relatively low levels of new construction and declining values among homes in Alaska’s top tier. 

Over the past decade, the total value of the housing stock has more than doubled in six states. Idaho leads gains with an increase of 149 percent since 2011.

Following are Nevada (146.3 percent), Utah (126.2 percent), Arizona (116.5 percent), Colorado (111.6 percent) and Washington (108 percent), which all saw a value double in the total housing market value over the last 10 years.