HomeThe median home sale price in the United States was $412,300 as of Q2 2024 which is a $14,500 decrease from the median sales price of $426,800 in Q1 2024. The current median home price in the US has decreased even more for a total of $30,300 from the $442,600 peak seen in Q4 of 2022. Home prices can fluctuate significantly over the short term — which can make looking at historical home price data over a longer period of time useful.
Examining yearly fluctuations in home prices provides valuable context, particularly when contrasting historical home values, which were a fraction of today’s U.S. housing market prices.
Historical home price trends
Home prices in the United States have seen an average year-over-year home price increase of 6.06% over the period of 1971 to 2024. While this year-over-year average helps explain the home price trend of house prices increasing from $24,300 in 1971 to the current 2024 home price of $426,800 — it does not fully explain the up and down's that the US housing market have experienced.
The peak of home prices in the US
Home prices hit a peak in 2022 with the median home price reaching $442,600 — this was fueled by historic year-over-year home price growth.
Key events that have shaped the housing market
Home prices in the U.S have experienced significant fluctuations due to pivotal events. The housing market bubble and the subsequent 2008 recession caused a sharp decline. From a peak of $257,400 in 2007, prices plummeted to $208,400 in 2009. However, recent years saw a remarkable rebound. Fueled by pandemic-induced demand and historically low interest rates, the median home price reached an all-time high of $442,600 in 2022.
Source: FRED; BIS