Dive Brief:

• Only 34.2% of U.S. homes have seen their value surpass their pre-recession high, according to Trulia, a sign that the housing market is still struggling to fully recover. Values are rebounding most significantly in cities with strong post-recession income growth, that weren’t hit as hard during the crash and that have growing populations.

• Large disparities exist from city to city. The top three — Denver, San Francisco and Oklahoma City — have seen 98.7%, 98% and 94.3% of area homes, respectively, reach pre-recession values. Meanwhile, 0.6% of homes in Las Vegas, 2.4% in Tucson, AZ, and 2.5% in Fresno, CA, have rebounded. 

• The foreclosure crisis impacted the market post-recession so much so that only 7% of homes had returned to their pre-recession values by April 2012. This pace extends full-value recovery to September 2025. 

Dive Insight:

Though the housing market is recovering, particularly in certain cities, the pace continues to be slow on a national level.

There is also concern among industry associations, including the National Association of Realtors and the National Association of Home Builders, that the Trump administration’s tax proposal could impact home values, with tax cuts likely to further raise demand for housing.

Still, Americans are feeling more confident about home prices. A recent Gallup poll found that 61% of U.S. adults expect prices in their market to climb over the next 12 months, reaching the highest levels since 2005.

One outcome of the continued price growth is that homeowners who sold in Q1 2017 are seeing bigger returns on their original investment. The average 24% return during the period was the most in almost a decade, according to Attom Data Solutions. Not surprisingly, San Jose, CA, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Seattle are seeing some of the highest returns.