$27.5 trillion: The total value of all U.S. homes

The nation lost $6.3 trillion between 2007 and 2011, but total home values have increased for the past three years in almost every major metro area in the country. However, the average value of homes is still below its 2006 peak.

The aggregate value of all homes nationwide is expected to be approximately $27.5 trillion by the end of the year, up more than $1.7 trillion (6.7%) year-over-year. The nation lost $6.3 trillion between 2007 and 2011, but total home values have increased for the past three years in almost every major metro in the country.

 

“It is a testament to just how huge and important the housing sector is to the overall economy that gains of more than a trillion dollars in one year represents only single-digit percentages of the total market,” wrote Stan Humphries of Zillow in a market report.

 

Median U.S. home values in November rose 0.3% from October, to a Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) of $177,600 and were up 6% from November 2013. U.S. home values have risen year-over-year for 28 straight months, and as they’ve grown, the total value of the nation’s overall housing stock has also grown.

 

Still, as massive as the current overall value of housing is in the U.S., the aggregate value of all homes remains 6.1% below the Q3 2006 peak of almost $29.3 trillion. This makes sense, as the median home value nationwide is still down almost 10% from its pre-recession high.

 

But just as median home values in several local markets across the country— including Denver, Pittsburgh and a handful of Texas metros— have exceeded their prior peaks, so too have aggregate home values in a few large markets.

 

In nine of the 35 largest metro areas covered by Zillow, the total value of all homes in the area is at or above prior peak. Many of the same areas where median home values are above peak are also the same as where aggregate values are at peak, including Denver and a collection of Texas markets (Dallas, Houston and Austin).

 

Although home values continue to grow, they are rising much more slowly than earlier in the year, currently at a pace last seen in mid-2013. Over the next 12 months, from November 2014 to November 2015, home values are predicted to rise 2.4%, to slightly less than $182,000.

 

Slowing home value appreciation has been driven in large part by more for-sale inventory coming on line in recent months, which is helping to bring the supply of homes in line with demand, according to Zillow.

 

“This has been welcome news for buyers that were previously competing with each other and with cash-rich investors for a very limited number of homes,” wrote Humphries. “However, inventory has been drifting downward on a monthly basis for the past two months.”