How US housing prices changed during the pandemic

The price increases account for 19% of increasing value since 1991.

Updated on Wed, July 21, 2021 by the USAFacts Team

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The US housing market had its largest rise in single-family home prices in almost 30 years.

Between April 2020 and April 2021, the price of an average home increased 16%, the largest single-year increase since 1992.

Home prices in Boise, Idaho increased the most among the 100 largest metropolitan areas, rising 28% in the first quarter of 2021. Honolulu was the only metro area where prices decreased.

During the pandemic, some areas saw 20% or more increases in home prices.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency tracks changes in single-family home prices through its House Price Index (HPI). The index shows the average home purchased for $100,000 in January 1991 would be worth $331,190 in April 2021. Nineteen percent of the increase, or $45,000, occurred in the last year. (The HPI does not adjust for inflation.)

Housing prices in the Mountain census division, comprised of Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana, increased 21% during the period. Prices in the West North Central census division (North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri) increased 13%, the smallest increase among regions.

The chart below shows how the price of homes has changed since 1991.