Despite slow sales, the value of homes in America has risen recently. Mortgage rates at nearly 8% have held buyers back. Low home inventory has pushed prices up and curtailed selling. Low inventory is winning the tug-of-war over the value of the housing market. One thing that has not changed for decades is that some home markets are cheaper than others. Local economic conditions usually drive this, as America’s cheapest housing market demonstrates. (You can buy most homes in these cities for under $125,000.)
The latest S&P Case Shiller home price index shows that, in August, home prices rose 0.4% from July and 2.6% from the year before. Craig J. Lazzara, managing director at S&P
DJI, commented that the increase “marks the seventh consecutive monthly gain since prices bottomed in January 2023.”
America’s Priciest and Cheapest Housing Markets
Case Shiller also looks at prices in 20 large housing markets. This measurement goes back to January 2000. That month, the agency assigned an index reading of 100 to each of the 20 markets it measures. Researchers point out that a market with an index of 150 has seen home prices rise by 50%.
Some markets have had extraordinary growth in prices. Most are on the West Coast and are probably driven by the tech boom. San Diego has an index of 419.08. In Los Angeles and San Francisco, they are 417.73 and 349.83, respectively.
At the far end of the home value increase list is Detroit, with a score of 180.80. Over 23 years, prices have only risen about 80%. That compares to the national figure of 311.50. (These seven major American cities have lost over half their populations.)
Detroit is America’s most downtrodden large city. Its population in 2000 was 951,270. Last year, that dropped to 620,376. The median household income in the city is $34,762, which is about half the national number. The poverty rate is 31.8%, nearly triple the national future. This affirms that home prices are tied to local demographics.
The Average American Is Losing Momentum on Their Savings Every Day (Sponsor)
If you’re like many Americans and keep your money ‘safe’ in a checking or savings account, think again. The average yield on a savings account is a paltry .4%* today. Checking accounts are even worse.
But there is good news. To win qualified customers, some accounts are paying nearly 10x the national average! That’s an incredible way to keep your money safe and earn more at the same time. Our top pick for high yield savings accounts includes other benefits as well. You can earn up to 3.80% with a Checking & Savings Account today Sign up and get up to $300 with direct deposit. No account fees. FDIC Insured.
Click here to see how much more you could be earning on your savings today. It takes just a few minutes to open an account to make your money work for you.
Thank you for reading! Have some feedback for us?
Contact the 24/7 Wall St. editorial team.
Latest from 24/7
Our expert who first called NVIDIA in 2009 is predicting 2025 will see a historic AI breakthrough.
You can follow him investing $500,000 of his own money on our top AI stocks for free.