From Q2 to Q3 of this year, home prices rose in nearly every major market in the U.S. according to the National Association of Realtors. While would-be buyers face increasingly high home prices, homeowners benefit from this price growth as they generate more home equity. The longer you’ve owned your home, the more its value tends to increase, so the amount of equity you’ve built largely depends on the home’s current market value.
Enjoying our content? Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter to get real estate market insights, news, and reports straight to your inbox.
To find out how much equity a median-priced single-family home has built in the past three years, Zoocasa analyzed data from 25 major metropolitan areas in the U.S. and calculated the estimated equity built on a home bought at the median price in each city with NAR data in 2020. It’s important to note that the exact amount of equity you’ve built will also depend on if you have any loans or outstanding mortgage payments.
More than $100,000 of Equity Built in Most U.S. Markets
Home values increased by more than $100,000 in just three years in the majority of cities we analyzed, including mid-sized cities like Nashville (Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, TN) and Tampa (Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL).
Cities on the West Coast were more likely to see home values increase by more than $150,000 though, with San Diego (San Diego-Carlsbad, CA) homes experiencing the greatest increase in value at $268,500. Los Angeles (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale,CA) homes followed with the second-highest increase in price in the past 3 years, rising from $673,100 in 2020 to $897,600 in Q3 2023 – an estimated built equity of $224,500.
Despite having the most expensive home prices, with a Q3 2023 median sales price of $1,300,000, San Francisco (San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA) home values increased less than Miami (Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL) and New York (New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ), though homeowners there still built equity of around $200,000.
Besides New York, the only other East Coast city to see home values increase by more than $150,000 was Boston (Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH), which experienced home price growth of $181,400 since 2020.
More Affordable Cities Also Experiencing Impressive Price Growth
Of the twelve cities to experience price growth of more than $130,000, all have a median home price above the national median of $394,300, though Tampa comes the closest to the national median with a Q3 median sales price of $415,000. So where can homebuyers with tighter budgets invest in real estate and build equity?
The good news for homebuyers and owners is that even the most affordable city on our list, Oklahoma City, experienced price growth of more than $75,000, increasing from a median price of $174,900 in 2020 to $251,200 in Q3 2023. But of the cities with median prices below the national median, Atlanta (Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA) comes out on top with home values increasing by $118,400 since 2020.
Dallas (Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX) and Philadelphia (Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD) are two other major cities with median home prices below the national median that experienced nearly $100,000 of price growth in three years.
Interestingly, the third-largest city in the U.S., Chicago, did not see home values increase nearly as much as other large metropolises like New York and Los Angeles, but homes there still built equity of about $77,500. The only city where home values increased by less than $50,000 was Detroit (Detroit-Warren-Deaborn, MI), where the median sales price increased by $45,300 since 2020.
If you’re preparing to enter the winter market, whether that’s through buying, selling, or both, it’s important to speak with a local realtor to learn about market conditions in your specific area. If you’re ready, give us a call today to speak with a qualified agent!
