Economic News

Redfin Highlights Most-Changed Housing Markets of This Decade

With all the talk about how the end of the year is near, it’s easy to forget that we’re also approaching a new decade: the 2020s. Given the milestone, the real estate site Redfin has released a new report looking at which cities and markets have seen the greatest changes since 2010.

It probably won’t surprise many to learn that the price of homes in San Fransisco has increased sharply over the past decade. Nevertheless the fact that the median has more than doubled since 2010 is still staggering. While the median price for a home in Northern California city was “just” $698,000 at the beginning of the decade, it’s now a whopping $1.4 million. That $711,000 increase marks the largest dollar value jump according in the study.

As for the city with the largest price increase percentage-wise, that crown goes to Fort Lauderdale. In 2010 the median cost was $106,000. However that increased by 161% throughout the decade to reach $278,000. Meanwhile other Sunshine State markets Orlando and Miami also saw triple-digit rises, growing 127% and 106% respectively.

Elsewhere Redfin also highlighted some interesting yet less obvious stats about certain markets. For example Salt Lake City took the title for “steepest drop in home supply” With the average SLC resident staying in their home for 23 years, the market there has grown more competitive as the number of listings has declined. As a result one-third of homes in the Beehive State capital now sell for more than list price compared to one-in-four in 2010.

Also notable is the market of Las Vegas where Redfin has observed a major contrast between home prices and incomes. In “Sin City,” the median home price has increased by an average annual rate of 14.1% since 2010. Sadly the median income in the city has declined at an average annual rate of 0.4% during the same timeframe. This caused homeownership rates to drop midway through the decade and, while they’ve rebounded slightly, the current 53% is still below the 59% it started the decade off with.

Commenting on the housing evolution seen in the past 10 years, Redfin chief economist Daryl Fairweather said, “The housing market is ending the decade in a vastly different place than it began. In 2010, the market was in the middle of its greatest downturn in history: Home values were plummeting and the share of mortgages in delinquency was at an all time high.” In contrast, Fairweather notes, “Heading into 2020, home values have recovered along with the economy, and now many parts of the country are grappling instead with new challenges like high home prices and a lack of homes for sale.”

There’s no doubt that the housing market is in a much different place at the end of 2019 than it was at the beginning of 2010. Still it’s interesting to see where in America the largest changes have occurred. Of course, with economic uncertainty ahead, perhaps the report compiled in 2029 will tell another story for these cities and many more.

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