U.S. home prices have broken another record: 8% of homes (6 million) are now worth $1 million or more, according to a new report from Redfin.
That is nearly double the share from before the pandemic when the share was only 4.8% (3.5 million).
The Bay Area has the biggest share of million-dollar homes, with nearly nine out of 10 properties in San Francisco and San Jose making the list. This isn’t surprising given its long history of being the most expensive place to buy a home in the U.S.
Anaheim, CA, saw the biggest increase, with its share of million-dollar homes jumping to 55% from 27% two years ago. California dominated the top five, following up with Oakland (55.1%), San Diego (40.4%), and Los Angeles (38.5%).
“The surge in housing values has turned many homeowners into millionaires, but has pushed homeownership out of reach for a lot of other Americans,” said Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr.
“Incomes have increased, but not as fast as home prices, which means many people are stuck renting or have to move somewhere more affordable if they want to buy a home.”
It’s a myth that Californians are fleeing the state during the pandemic (Californians who move are only slightly more likely to leave the state), but domestic migration has dropped. Entrances to California fell 38% from the beginning of the pandemic.
“The public’s attention has been focused on the so-called ‘CalExodus’ phenomenon, but the reality is that the dramatic drop in ‘CalEntrances’ since the pandemic began has been a bigger driver of recent population changes in the state,” Natalie Holmes, a research fellow at the California Policy Lab, said in a statement.
Migration to more affordable areas has increased as buyers with flexible, remote work seek out space and privacy.
On the other end of the spectrum, Elgin, IL; El Paso, TX; Columbia, SC; McAllen, TX; Dayton, OH, and Buffalo, NY, had the lowest shares of million-dollar homes, all coming in under 0.2.%.