U.S. homes are expected to have gained more than $1.3 trillion in cumulative value in 2012, according to real estate research firm Zillow. Last year marked the first annual gain in more than five years and the largest since 2005.
The value of U.S. homes now stands at about $23.7 trillion, up 6 percent from the end of 2011. Last year, cumulative home values fell almost $792 billion from 2010, according to Zillow.
More than 75 percent of the 177 metro areas included in this analysis-135 in all-experienced cumulative home value gains in 2012. Among the 30 largest metro areas covered by Zillow, only Philadelphia failed to record an annual gain in cumulative home values. Of the 30 largest metros, those with the largest gains in cumulative value as measured by total dollar volume include Los Angeles ($122.1 billion); San Francisco ($93.3 billion); San Jose, Calif. ($54.7 billion); Phoenix ($52 billion) and Miami-Fort Lauderdale ($47.5 billion).
"This gain in cumulative home values is welcome and long-awaited, after years of cumulative value declines," said Zillow Chief Economist Stan Humphries. "After a sluggish 2011, the housing market really turned a corner in 2012, as historic affordability and sustained investor interest helped keep demand at a boil."
"We expect value gains to continue into 2013. As home values rise, and more homeowners are freed from negative equity, we can expect a continued slow transition to a more normal housing environment driven by local market fundamentals and conditions."
