Few things make you money overnight. However, over 1 year, 5 years, 30 years, you can see a major gain in wealth. The National Association of Realtors Economists’ Outlook posted a phenomenal interactive report on the typical housing wealth gains for homeowners in different metro areas.

 

“Out of 182 metro areas, there were 21 metro areas with a typical housing wealth gain over a 30-year period of at least $500,000.” reports NAR. Shockingly (or not, if you’ve tracked home prices in these areas) San Francisco, San Jose, and Anaheim’s homeowners benefited from the price appreciation to realize a typical housing wealth gain of over $1 million. 

 

Wealth Gains in Metro Areas

In Los Angeles, depending on when you bought your house, you could experience a $320K equity gain over 5 years, $515K over 10 years, or $737K over 30 years. These are calculated based on a home purchased with a 30 year mortgage and 10% down payment. 

For any potential home buyer wondering how to strike gold in real estate: “Housing wealth (equity) accumulation takes time, and is built up by price appreciation and paying off the mortgage. ” Many baby boomers who bought 30 years ago are selling today and walking away with enormous seller proceeds. 

 

Did home buyers 30 years ago in Sunnyvale or Irvine know that they were going to experience this incredible housing wealth windfall if they were to sell in 2021? Most likely not. Most people buying a home are buying it because it makes sense for their life at that time. 

 

What are your real estate regrets of where you almost bought (or maybe sold too soon)?

 

Find out your home’s current value by clicking here

 

 

 

This content is not the product of the National Association of REALTORS®, and may not reflect NAR's viewpoint or position on these topics and NAR does not verify the accuracy of the content.