A record 146 U.S. cities were added to the “million-dollar cities” club in 2021, according to a new report from Zillow. This increase brings the national total to 481 cities with typical home values starting at at least $1 million. At this current pace, another 49 more could be added to the list by the summer of 2022.
Last year’s increase nearly triples the number of new million-dollar cities added in 2020. And more million-dollar cities were added in 2021 than the previous six years combined. It’s clear to understand this rapid growth is based on 2021’s record-setting year of home appreciation where home values appreciated by 19.6%
Unsurprisingly, most of the million-dollar cities are in large coastal regions. The San Francisco and New York metro areas both have 76 million-dollar surrounding cities. The Los Angeles metro is third with 57 cities, and San Jose is fourth with 22. In total, 60% of all million-dollar cities lie within eight metro areas, and almost half (44%) are in California.
The takeaway:
“The surge in demand for housing last year sent home values skyrocketing, even in places where prices already were sky-high, and that helped tip a record number of cities into the million-dollar club,” said Jeff Tucker, Zillow senior economist. “The locations of these newly seven-figure towns bust the myth that everyone fled California and the Northeast last year, as California, Massachusetts and New York led the pack for the most new cities with home values above $1 million. Still, we’re seeing how the geography of wealth in the U.S. has begun to shift, as 2021 was the first year for both Idaho and Montana to place any cities on this list, and now those Western states boast three million-dollar cities each.”
“With such sharp increases in home prices over the last year, we’re seeing tons of demand come from current homeowners who’ve decided to tap into their home equity to move up into their dream home,” said Erik Throm, an agent with Fast Real Estate in San Francisco. “But even expensive homes are moving quickly in this market, and shoppers should be prepared with a pre-qualification letter and the help of a trusted local agent who knows the pros and cons of their specific neighborhood and how to structure a winning bid that still protects a buyer in an incredibly competitive and high-priced market.”
Read more on the million-dollar city study, visit: https://www.zillow.com/research/million-dollar-cities-2021-30655/
