The US has a record-high 550 'million-dollar' cities

SEATTLE, April 2, 2024

• There are currently 550 U.S. cities where the typical home value is $1 million or more, up from 491 a year ago.
• California easily boasts the most million-dollar cities, followed by New York and New Jersey.
• Florida, Texas and Delaware are the only states with a net loss in million-dollar cities over the past year.

SEATTLE, April 2, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. has a record-high 550 "million-dollar" cities — cities where the typical home is worth $1 million or more — a new Zillow® analysis shows. That is 59 more million-dollar cities than a year ago,¹ reversing losses from when home values were wobbling this time last year.

A tight housing market with few homes available has kept home values rising, even while affordability challenges have hampered buyers. The good news for buyers in the market this home-shopping season is that new listings are on the rise as the effects of "rate lock" — occurring when homeowners are financially incentivized to keep their current home because of the low rate on their current mortgage — are weakening, and the hope for lower mortgage rates later this year may mean a second wave of buyer demand this summer.

"Affordability is still a big challenge for buyers, but that hasn't stopped prices from growing," said Anushna Prakash, an economic research data scientist at Zillow. "Buyers this spring are going to see more options to choose from, but they'll also see a lot of other buyers wandering through the same open houses. Competition will stay fierce, especially for the most attractive and well-priced homes. If mortgage rates drop later this year, as many expect, we may see a surge in million-dollar cities as even more buyers jump in and drive prices higher."

While million-dollar cities were affected more than the typical U.S. city when home values fell in late 2022, they have generally tracked with the national market over the past year. The typical U.S. home is worth 4.2% more than it was a year ago. In current million-dollar cities, the median year-over-year home value growth is 4.6%.

California is home to 210 million-dollar cities, more than the next five states combined. New Jersey has added the most million-dollar cities over the past year, gaining 14.