Housing Market Adds $2.5T as Millennial Homeownership Surges 19% in 2024

Redfin reports two upstate New York metros—Albany and Rochester—had the fastest growth in aggregate home value, while Florida metros grew more slowly

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ: RDFN) — The combined value of U.S. homes gained $2.5 trillion in 2024 to reach $49.7 trillion, according to a new report from Redfin (redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage. In percentage terms, the total value of the U.S. housing market grew 5.2% year over year. That was the slowest growth in a calendar year since 2019 and the second-slowest since 2011.

“There are more homes for sale right now than in recent years and that has led to buyer’s markets in many areas of the country. That’s good news, but it doesn’t mean homes are getting cheaper—prices continue to tick up each month,” said Redfin Economics Research Lead Chen Zhao. “We expect prices—and therefore home values—to keep rising steadily this year because there are still enough buyers competing over a relatively small number of listings, compared to before the pandemic.”

Still, the total value of the U.S. homes has more than doubled over the past decade, from $23 trillion in 2014.

The combined value of U.S. homes peaked at $50.4 trillion in July. The drop to $49.7 trillion is reflective of seasonal sales trends, with overall home values rising during the peak buying seasons between March and September and falling during the winter months when fewer properties are sold.

It’s worth noting that new construction also helps underpin the overall increase in market valuation.

Major metros in upstate New York gained the most value in 2024

Major metros in the Northeast gained the most value in percentage terms in 2024, led by Albany and Rochester in upstate New York. Albany’s aggregate home value rose 11.3% to pass the $100 billion mark ($110.7 billion), while Rochester’s total value increased 11.2% to $124.3 billion.

The rising value can be attributed to a shortage of homes for sale in the region, which is driving prices up. Out of all major U.S. metros, Rochester has the lowest number of months of for-sale supply, while Albany has the eighth lowest.

The value of properties in Newark, NJ rose 11.1% to $410.8 billion, while another upstate New York metro Buffalo climbed 11% to $107.8 billion. Hartford, CT (up 10.6% to $140 billion) rounded out the five metros with the highest gains.

Only three metros recorded a fall in total home value, led by Cape Coral, FL, which dropped 2.9% to $199.5 billion. Next came North Port, FL (-1.1% to $247 billion) and Honolulu (-0.4% to $279.8 billion). West Palm Beach, FL (+0.3% to $471.7 billion) and Tampa, FL (+0.8% to $537.1 billion) rounded out the five major metros with the slowest growth.

Florida’s housing market faced multiple headwinds in 2024. The pandemic-driven construction boom increased housing supply, right as buyer demand slowed due to the relative lack of affordability compared to just a few years ago. On top of those impacts, natural disasters—including major hurricanes in October—have led to higher insurance costs and increased climate-related concerns for buyers.

San Diego and Seattle knock on door of trillion-dollar club

There are eight U.S. metros where the total value of homes tops $1 trillion, led by New York, which saw values rise 9.4% to $2.43 trillion in 2024.

San Diego and Seattle continue to knock on the door of the trillion-dollar club and look set to join the list in 2025, if home values keep increasing at a similar rate.

Millennials now own more than 20% of the U.S. home market

Millennials now own more than 20% of the U.S. home market, with their generation’s total home value rising 18.8% year over year to $9.7 trillion in the third quarter of 2024.

The growth for millennials is due to a number of factors, including being the largest generation by population and having reached an age and financial position where they make up the largest share of the homebuying market.

The millennial generation’s growth is nearly four times faster than that of baby boomers, who saw their total home value grow 5.2% to $19.8 trillion. Boomers still own 41.1% of the total U.S. market, the largest share of any generation.

The value of homes owned by Gen X increased 4.6% to $14.1 trillion, while the Silent Generation home values fell 3.7% to $4.6 trillion.

Growth of rural home values outpaces suburban and urban homes for seventh consecutive year

Rural home values outpaced those in urban areas and the suburbs for the seventh consecutive year, jumping 6.4% year over year to $8.1 trillion. The total value of homes in urban areas rose 4.9% to $10.6 trillion, while the value of homes in the suburbs increased 5.1% to $30.8 trillion.

There are around 59 million homes in the suburbs, compared to 23 million in urban areas and 22 million in rural areas.

To view the full report, including charts, methodology, and additional metro-level data, please visit: https://www.redfin.com/news/housing-market-value-december-2024

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate company. We help people find a place to live with brokerage, rentals, lending, and title insurance services. We run the country's #1 real estate brokerage site. Our customers can save thousands in fees while working with a top agent. Our home-buying customers see homes first with on-demand tours, and our lending and title services help them close quickly. Our rentals business empowers millions nationwide to find apartments and houses for rent. Since launching in 2006, we've saved customers more than $1.6 billion in commissions. We serve approximately 100 markets across the U.S. and Canada and employ over 4,000 people.

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