U.S. Home Prices Are up 29 Percent Since 2019

Home prices have risen by nearly 30 percent since 2019 in the United States when adjusted for inflation, according to a new State of the Nation’s Housing report by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. As the following chart shows, the rate of increase varies greatly in different metro areas across the country, ranging from 60 percent in Knoxville, Tennessee to 1.7 percent in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont area of California. According to the National Association of Realtors, the U.S. median existing single-family home price hit a new high of $412,500 in 2024 - five times that of the median household income.

In recent years, growth in home prices has greatly outstripped that of household incomes. According to the report, in 2024, the price-to-income ratio hit 5.0. This is well above the pre-pandemic reading of 4.1 in 2019. In the 1990s, price-to-income ratios averaged just 3.2.

In 2025, high home prices and elevated interest rates reduced homebuying to its lowest level since the mid-1990s. The report writers explain that increases in both insurance premiums and property taxes have heightened financial stress on homeowners and landlords, while high rents have left a rising number of people cost burdened, despite an abundance of new apartments. This has in turn contributed to a sharp rise in homelessness in the United States.

The outlook is far from positive, as the JCHS warns that “unprecedented destruction from wildfires has further highlighted the growing threat to the housing stock from climate-related disasters. At the same time, federal housing support is lessening, creating uncertainty regarding the availability of crucial assistance programs. The looming possibility of an economic downturn is exacerbating the nation’s already-enormous housing challenges.”