The average sales price of new homes in the United States experienced a slight decrease in 2024, dropping to 512,2000 U.S. dollars from the peak of 521,500 U.S. dollars in 2022. This decline came after years of substantial price increases, with the average price surpassing 400,000 U.S. dollars for the first time in 2021. The recent cooling in the housing market reflects broader economic trends and changing consumer sentiment towards homeownership. Factors influencing home prices and affordability The rapid rise in home prices over the past few years has been driven by several factors, including historically low mortgage rates and increased demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the market has since slowed down, with the number of home sales declining by over two million between 2021 and 2023. This decline can be attributed to rising mortgage rates and decreased affordability. The Housing Affordability Index hit a record low of 98.1 in 2023, indicating that the median-income family could no longer afford a median-priced home. Future outlook for the housing market Despite the recent cooling, experts forecast a potential recovery in the coming years. The Freddie Mac House Price Index showed a growth of 6.5 percent in 2023, which is still above the long-term average of 4.4 percent since 1990. However, homebuyer sentiment remains low across all age groups, with people aged 45 to 64 expressing the most pessimistic outlook. The median sales price of existing homes is expected to increase slightly until 2025, suggesting that affordability challenges may persist in the near future.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for United States (QUSR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q3 2024 about residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

The average price per square foot of floor space in new single-family housing in the United States decreased after the great financial crisis, followed by several years of stagnation. Since 2012, the price has continuously risen, hitting 168 U.S. dollars per square foot in 2022. In 2024, the average sales price of a new home exceeded 500,000 U.S. dollars. Development of house sales in the U.S. One of the reasons for rising property prices is the gradual growth of house sales between 2011 and 2020. This period was marked by the gradual recovery following the subprime mortgage crisis and a growing housing sentiment. Another significant factor for the housing demand was the growing number of new household formations each year. Despite this trend, housing transactions plummeted in 2021, amid soaring prices and borrowing costs. In 2021, the average construction cost for single-family housing rose by nearly 12 percent year-on-year, and in 2022, the increase was even higher, at close to 17 percent. Financing a house purchase Mortgage interest rates in the U.S. rose dramatically in 2022 and remained elevated until 2024. In 2020, a homebuyer could lock in a 30-year fixed interest rate of under three percent, whereas in 2024, the average rate for the same mortgage type was more than twice higher. That has led to a decline in homebuyer sentiment, and an increasing share of the population pessimistic about buying a home in the current market.

Graph and download economic data for Median Sales Price of Houses Sold for the United States (MSPUS) from Q1 1963 to Q4 2024 about sales, median, housing, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for All-Transactions House Price Index for California (CASTHPI) from Q1 1975 to Q4 2024 about appraisers, CA, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

The annual house price to rent ratio in the Netherlands has been on an upward trend since 2015. In 2023, the ratio declined for the first time, falling slightly to 154.6 index points. That was higher than the average house price to rent ratio in the OECD countries.The ratio is based on the nominal purchase price of a house divided by the annual rent of a similar place, with 2015 chosen as a base year. A value of 150 indicates that house price prices have outgrown rental prices by 50 percent.

Existing Home Sales in the United States increased to 4260 Thousand in February from 4090 Thousand in January of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Existing Home Sales - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for Germany (QDER628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q3 2024 about Germany, residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, and price.

Graph and download economic data for All-Transactions House Price Index for the United States (USSTHPI) from Q1 1975 to Q4 2024 about appraisers, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

This statistic shows the average selling price of houses in Belgium from 1973 to 2017 (in euros). According to the source, the numbers provided concern 'ordinary houses' (in Flemish Dutch: gewone woonhuizen). This in contrast to other numbers, which cover 'villa's, bungalows and mansions', 'apartments, flats and studios' (in Flemish Dutch: villa's, bungalows, landhuizen) and 'building lots' (in Flemish Dutch: bouwgronden). In 2017, the average price paid when selling a house was 216,775 euros.

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis in 2020, house prices in Belgium continued increasing. Unsurprisingly, the Brussels-Capital Region was the most expensive region for housing.

Housing Index in Switzerland decreased to 195.13 points in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 195.53 points in the third quarter of 2024. This dataset provides - Switzerland House Price Index - actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news.

This statistic shows the ratio of house prices to household income in the United Kingdom from 1976 to 2016. In 1976 the ratio of house prices to household income was 2.64. This has risen to 4.54 in 2016. The lowest ratio at any point in this statistic was 2.23 in 1996.

Graph and download economic data for Residential Property Prices for Netherlands (QNLN628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q3 2024 about Netherlands, residential, HPI, housing, price index, indexes, and price.

Housing Index in Singapore increased to 204.50 points in the first quarter of 2024 from 201.50 points in the fourth quarter of 2023. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - Singapore Property Price Index - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for Australia (QAUR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q3 2024 about Australia, residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, and price.

South Africa House Price: Average: sa: Luxury data was reported at 6,455,355.000 ZAR in Sep 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 6,213,129.000 ZAR for Jun 2016. South Africa House Price: Average: sa: Luxury data is updated quarterly, averaging 805,534.000 ZAR from Sep 1966 (Median) to Sep 2016, with 201 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6,455,355.000 ZAR in Sep 2016 and a record low of 50,850.000 ZAR in Mar 1970. South Africa House Price: Average: sa: Luxury data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Absa Group Limited South Africa. The data is categorized under Global Database’s South Africa – Table ZA.P004: House Price: Average: by Type: Seasonally Adjusted.

Affordability ratios calculated by dividing house prices by gross annual residence-based earnings. Based on the median and lower quartiles of both house prices and earnings in England and Wales.

Graph and download economic data for Real Residential Property Prices for Canada (QCAR628BIS) from Q1 1970 to Q3 2024 about Canada, residential, HPI, housing, real, price index, indexes, and price.

Prior to 1974 the data was based on surveys of existing house sales in Dublin carried out by the Valuation Office on behalf of the D. O. E. Since 1974 the data has been based on information supplied by all lending agencies on the average price of mortgage financed existing house transactions. Average house prices are derived from data supplied by the mortgage lending agencies on loans approved by them rather than loans paid. In comparing house prices figures from one period to another, account should be taken of the fact that changes in the mix of houses (incl apartments) will affect the average figures. Data for 1969/1970 is not available for Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Other areas
The most current data is published on these sheets. Previously published data may be subject to revision. Any change from the originally published data will be highlighted by a comment on the cell in question. These comments will be maintained for at least a year after the date of the value change.

National and Other Areas figure changed for 2015 on 27/6/15 as revised data received from Local Authorities Prices includes houses and apartments measured in €

VITAL SIGNS INDICATOR
Rent Payments (EC8)

FULL MEASURE NAME
Median rent payment

LAST UPDATED
January 2023

DESCRIPTION
Rent payments refer to the cost of leasing an apartment or home and serves as a measure of housing costs for individuals who do not own a home. The data reflect the median monthly rent paid by Bay Area households across apartments and homes of various sizes and various levels of quality. This differs from advertised rents for available apartments, which usually are higher. Note that rent can be presented using nominal or real (inflation-adjusted) dollar values; data are presented inflation-adjusted to reflect changes in household purchasing power over time.

DATA SOURCE
U.S. Census Bureau: Decennial Census - https://nhgis.org
Count 2 (1970)
Form STF1 (1980-1990)
Form SF3a (2000)

U.S. Census Bureau: American Community Survey - https://data.census.gov/
Form B25058 (2005-2021; median contract rent)

Bureau of Labor Statistics: Consumer Price Index - https://www.bls.gov/data/
1970-2021

CONTACT INFORMATION
vitalsigns.info@mtc.ca.gov

METHODOLOGY NOTES (across all datasets for this indicator)
Rent data reflects median rent payments rather than list rents (refer to measure definition above). American Community Survey 1-year data is used for larger geographies – Bay counties and most metropolitan area counties – while smaller geographies rely upon 5-year rolling average data due to their smaller sample sizes. Note that 2020 data uses the 5-year estimates because the ACS did not collect 1-year data for 2020.

1970 Census data for median rent payments has been imputed from quintiles using methodology from California Department of Finance as the source data only provided the mean, rather than the median, monthly rent. Metro area boundaries reflects today’s metro area definitions by county for consistency, rather than historical metro area boundaries.

Inflation-adjusted data are presented to illustrate how rent payments have grown relative to overall price increases; that said, the use of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) does create some challenges given the fact that housing represents a major chunk of consumer goods bundle used to calculate CPI. This reflects a methodological tradeoff between precision and accuracy and is a common concern when working with any commodity that is a major component of CPI itself.