If you wanted to buy every single home in the country, all at once, you’d need to be prepared to spend more than $25 trillion, according to Zillow.
The overall cumulative value of all homes in the U.S. at the end of 2013 is expected to be approximately $25.7 trillion, up almost $1.9 trillion, or 7.9 percent, from the end of 2012. Gains were calculated by measuring the difference between cumulative home values as of the end of 2012 and anticipated cumulative home values at the end of 2013.
The gain in cumulative home values is the second annual gain in a row, after home values fell every year from 2007 through 2011. Between 2007 and 2011, the total value of the U.S. housing stock fell by $6.3 trillion. Over the past two years, U.S. homes have gained back $2.8 trillion, or about 44 percent of the total value lost during the recession.
“In 2013, the housing market continued to build on the positive momentum that began in 2012, after the housing market bottomed. Low mortgage rates and an improving economy helped bring buyers into the market, boosting demand and driving prices up,” said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. “We expect these gains to continue into next year, though at a slower pace. The housing market is transitioning away from the robust bounce off the bottom we’ve been seeing, toward a more sustainable, healthier market. This will result in annual appreciation closer to historic norms of between 3 percent and 5 percent.”
Real estate in the United States is hugely valuable. The $25.7 trillion total value of the country’s entire housing stock is more than the combined gross domestic products (GDP) of China and the U.S. in 2012. Homes in the New York and Los Angeles markets alone account for more than $4 trillion in combined value.
The chart below shows how much the total housing stock in each of the country’s 30 largest metros is expected to be worth at the end of this year.
METRO
Projected Value, All Homes Year-End 2013
Projected Home Value Gain/(Loss) 2013
Home Value Gain/(Loss) 2012
United States
$25.7 trillion
$1.89 trillion
$885 billion
New York, NY
$1.9 trillion
$123.1 billion
($3.5 billion)
Los Angeles, CA
$2.2 trillion
$323.1 billion
$117.8 billion
Chicago, IL
$687.5 billion
$58.6 billion
($8 billion)
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
$339.5 billion
$18.7 billion
$17.8 billion
Philadelphia, PA
$540.5 billion
$19.5 billion
($6.7 billion)
Houston, TX
$307.2 billion
$18.7 billion
$6.4 billion
Washington, DC
$890.3 billion
$64.5 billion
$26.1 billion
Miami-Fort Lauderdale, FL
$646.8 billion
$83.3 billion
$49.5 billion
Atlanta, GA
$332 billion
$39.1 billion
$869.5 million
Boston, MA
$568.5 billion
$45.6 billion
$20.1 billion
San Francisco, CA
$987.2 billion
$159.2 billion
$87.7 billion
Detroit, MI
$247.2 billion
$33.5 billion
$19.6 billion
Riverside, CA
$370.1 billion
$71.5 billion
$20.1 billion
Phoenix, AZ
$383.5 billion
$36.1 billion
$59.6 billion
Seattle, WA
$427.8 billion
$43.6 billion
$22.7 billion
Minneapolis-St Paul, MN
$281.4 billion
$25.4 billion
$18 billion
San Diego, CA
$507.5 billion
$71.5 billion
$32 billion
St. Louis, MO
$170.5 billion
$2.4 billion
$4.6 billion
Tampa, FL
$204.5 billion
$25.7 billion
$10.2 billion
Baltimore, MD
$302.7 billion
$14.5 billion
$2.4 billion
Denver, CO
$265.1 billion
$21.9 billion
$18.6 billion
Pittsburgh, PA
$131.2 billion
$6.6 billion
$2.8 billion
Portland, OR
$216.7 billion
$22.8 billion
$10.1 billion
Sacramento, CA
$236.9 billion
$40.7 billion
$16.4 billion
San Antonio, TX
$107 billion
$1.9 billion
($3.5 billion)
Orlando, FL
$149 billion
$21.3 billion
$8.7 billion
Cincinnati, OH
$115.7 billion
$5.7 billion
$420.5 million
Cleveland, OH
$105.4 billion
$3.3 billion
$942.1 million
Kansas City, MO
$115.6 billion
$2 billion
$1.9 billion
Las Vegas, NV
$146.7 billion
$31.4 billion
$10.8 billion