Press release
Hot markets and home feature fads: How the pandemic changed home buying
Record price growth, new in-demand features and a rise in virtual home touring mark the past five years in the housing market U.S. home values are up 45%
About this update from Zillow Group, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Record price growth, new in-demand features and a rise in virtual home touring mark the past five years in the housing market\nU.S. home values are up 45% since the start of the pandemic five years ago. Home values and rents shot up most significantly in Miami.There are nearly a million more $1 million homes nationwide than there were five years ago.Demand for outdoor home features has stuck, while the \"cloffice\" proved to be a fad.SEATTLE, Feb. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The housing market of today looks remarkably different from the market five years ago, just before the COVID-19 outbreak was declared a global pandemic in March 2020. Since then, home values and rents have surged to record highs, the number of $1 million homes has more than doubled, and both what buyers want in a home and how they shop for one have changed, perhaps permanently.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \n\"A perfect cocktail of lower mortgage rates, higher savings and a growing desire for space drove housing demand to new heights during the pandemic. Just about every major market experienced price growth far above what they'd become accustomed to, resetting the financial bar for homeownership,\" said Orphe Divounguy, senior economist at Zillow®. \"While the financial hurdle is higher, the home-shopping process has improved. Virtual tools are helping buyers make more informed decisions and reducing the time they spend on in-person tours.\"\nHome values and rent pricesNationally, home values have grown 45.3% since February 2020, just before the pandemic. That's more than a decade's worth of typical growth packed into just five years.\nThe hottest market over that period is Miami, where home values and rents have grown more than any other major metro area. Tampa and Hartford are also among the top five for growth in both home values and rents since the pandemic started.\nHome values in Austin took the wildest ride during the pandemic. Austin easily eclipsed any other market in terms of the highest year-over-year growth reached, with home values growing 40.3% during the early pandemic frenzy in the year ending August 2021. However, Austin also experienced the biggest year-over-year decline as rising mortgage rates chilled buyer demand and new construction helped ease competition, with home values falling 14% in the year ending July 2023. Overall, Austin home values ...