Category Residential Real Estate

The last decade of rapid home price growth has severely worsened housing affordability across the U.S. Home values surged more than 81% between 2016 and 2026, dramatically outpacing wage growth (+47%) and reshaping housing affordability nationwide. These are the states and cities with the largest increases in home prices over the last decade.

Buying a home used to be the financially savvy move—but that’s no longer the case for many would-be buyers in America. With mortgage rates more than doubling since 2021 and home prices still sitting at historic highs, renting has become the more affordable choice in most markets.

While home sales are down 8.3% year-over-year and price growth has cooled to just 1.1%, certain markets—especially in the Northeast—remain highly competitive, with homes selling quickly and often above asking. These are the hottest real estate markets of 2026.

The median age of U.S. homes has consistently risen since the turn of the century and has now reached 43 years. Researchers calculated the median age of residential housing units based on the year each unit was built, and ranked U.S. cities and states accordingly.

Even as home price growth has slowed and now trails inflation, property tax bills are still climbing across much of the U.S. as assessments catch up to the sharp appreciation of the early 2020s. This analysis breaks down property tax rates by state, county, and city to reveal where homeowners have the greatest burden.

13 states now have median market rents exceeding $2,000 per month. These are the states and metros with the highest rent prices in the nation.

Analyzing home price trends since 2000, researchers ranked states and major metros based on the likelihood that a random homebuyer would have experienced a price drop greater than 5% following their purchase.

While conditions are challenging for new home buyers everywhere, some parts of the U.S. are more favorable than others. These are the best U.S. metros and states to find a new starter home.

Housing is the largest regular expenditure for most households, so the failure of wages to keep up with housing prices can make housing costs even more expensive in real dollars. To find the locations with the highest home price-to-income ratios, researchers ranked locations by the median home price divided by the median annual household income.

Middle-income buyers are being squeezed out of the market: as of early 2025, households earning around $75,000 annually could afford just 21% of listings—less than half the share available to them before the pandemic. These are the U.S. metros and states that are investing in more affordable housing.

The median age of a home in the U.S. is now over 40 years old, underscoring the need for both renovation of existing properties and the construction of new ones to meet growing demand. These are the locations with the most newly-built homes.

More than half of all U.S. states have seen rent grow by double-digit percentages. At the metro level, the pace of rent changes can be even more stark. These are the locations with the biggest increases in median rent from 2024 to 2025.