Last year was an unusual year for the housing market. Expectations of a busy spring sales season were dashed when the coronavirus took hold and mitigation efforts caused interested buyers to delay their plans. But what looked like it may have been a lost year turned into something entirely different. The market rebounded faster than predicted and buyers returned in droves. Sales skyrocketed in early summer and then outperformed year-before levels through the end of the year.
According to one recent analysis, strong demand and fewer homes for sale also led the market to its biggest growth in any year since 2005. In fact, U.S. housing stock gained $2.5 trillion in value last year and is now worth $36.2 trillion. Naturally, a lot of that value is on the coasts, with cities in California accounting for four of the top 10 metros with the highest housing value. New York was number one overall, though. Its housing stock was worth $3.1 trillion in total. (source)