Mapped: The Top 30 Most Valuable Real Estate Cities in the U.S.

The Most Valuable Real Estate Cities in America

According to real estate tycoon Harold Samuel, there are three things that matter when it comes to real estate value—location, location, and location.

America’s property market is no exception to this rule. Depending on the city and its—you guessed it—location, there are vast discrepancies in real estate value across the country.

Using the latest data from LendingTree, this graphic ranks the top 30 most valuable real estate cities in America. We’ll also evaluate the top cities based on median value of homes, and how COVID-19 has impacted the market.

The Most Valuable Real Estate Cities

Out of the $32.6 trillion of total real estate value included in LendingTree’s database, the top 30 cities account for almost 57%:

New York has the highest real estate value in the country at $2.8 trillion—that’s around the size of the UK’s GDP in 2019. Close behind is Los Angeles at $2.3 trillion, while San Francisco ranks third at $1.3 trillion.

This may not come as a surprise, considering the popularity of these areas. New York and Los Angeles have the two highest city populations in the U.S., and San Francisco is the second most densely populated city in America (after New York). Historically, these areas have been notorious for their red-hot real estate markets, limited housing supply, and high costs of living.

However, while these cities take the top three spots when it comes to total real estate value, the ranking looks a bit different when comparing the median value of each city.

Most Valuable Cities, by Median Home Value

When it comes to median home value, San Jose claims the top spot at $1.1 million, while San Francisco places second at $959K:

The Bay Area leads the pack in terms of median value, but San Francisco and San Jose aren’t the only Californian cities to make the list. In fact, half of the top 10 cities are in the Golden State.

Suburban Shuffle

It’s important to note that these numbers are from January 2020, before the global pandemic triggered numerous societal and economic changes, including an accelerated migration to the suburbs from key urban centers like New York and San Francisco.

This mass exodus has negatively impacted sales activity. In fall 2020, or example, home sales in New York dropped by 50% compared to last year.

In contrast, places like Honolulu have seen significant growth in home sales—in September 2020, single-family home sales rose by 12.7% compared to last year. Some experts believe COVID has been a key factor driving this growth, as more people are able to work from anywhere, thanks to remote work.