Study: Housing Market Posts Huge Strides Over Past Decade

A decade makes a difference in the housing market, according to a new study from LendingTree, an online mortgage marketplace. Since 2009, the median home value has risen nearly $50,000 across the 50 largest U.S. metros.

A financial crisis that ignited in 2008 and continued through 2009 caused many Americans to see their home values drop drastically. But in most places, home values now exceed their former 2006 peaks.

LendingTree researchers analyzed the 50 largest metro markets to see where home prices have recovered the most since the height of the Great Recession. The study also looked at how income and unemployment rates have changed over the last decade. Since 2009, unemployment rates have plunged by 4.7 percentage points, and the median household income has risen by an average of $11,344.

San Jose, Calif.; San Francisco; and Los Angeles have recovered the most since 2009. Their average home prices have climbed by six-digit figures, with an average gain of $243,600, according to the study. “It is likely that these markets have rebounded so strongly due to the prevalence of high-paying jobs brought by tech companies like Google and Apple in these metros,” researchers note.