Californians face 76% surge of cities with million-dollar home prices

California has 38% of the priciest places to live in the nation.

“How expensive?” tracks measurements of California’s totally unaffordable housing market.

The pain: The number of million-dollar cities in five pricey California regions rose by 76% since the pandemic upended the economy.

The source: My trusty spreadsheet reviewed Zillow tabulations of cities with median home values in excess of $1 million as of February compared to a year ago and pre-coronavirus November 2019.

The pinch

Five of California’s costliest metro areas for housing had a combined 169 million-dollar cities this year, up 10 over 12 months – or 6%. Since 2019, million-dollar cities have grown by 73 – or a 76% increase.

Yet, cities where the typical home is worth seven figures grew even faster across the nation.

There were a total of 550 US million-dollar cities in February, up 59 in a year – or 12% growth. It’s also an increase of 332 cities since 2019 – or a 152% jump.

Think about those five California metros and their million-dollar cities …

San Francisco: 69 cities in February – unchanged in a year and up 23 vs. 2019. That’s adding 50% in five years.

Los Angeles-Orange County: 63 – up 7 in a year and up 33 vs. 2019. That’s a 110% gain in five years.

San Jose: 18 – unchanged in a year and up 8 vs. 2019. That’s 80% more over five years.

San Diego: 10 – up 3 in a year and up 5 vs. 2019. That’s double in five years.

Santa Maria-Santa Barbara: 9 – unchanged in a year and up 4 vs. 2019. That’s 80% more over five years.

Pressure points

Overall, California led the nation this year with 210 million-dollar cities – up 12 in a year. No 2019 data was available.

Note that California has 38% of the nation’s “million-dollar cities” but just 10% of the US housing supply.

Other states with very expensive housing include …

New York: 66 cities – up 12 in a year.

New Jersey: 49 – up 14 in a year.

Florida: 32 – off 2 in a year.

Massachusetts: 31 – up 4 in a year.

Colorado: 21 – unchanged in a year.

Washington: 18 – up 2 in a year.

Hawaii: 17 – up 1 in a year.

Texas: 14 – off 1 in a year.

Maryland: 10 – up 2 in a year.

The report shows 34 states in February had at least one city with typical home values above $1 million.

Quotable

“The housing market is tight with few homes available, and competition is still high for attractive homes. That competitive pressure is pushing home values higher across the U.S.,” the report said. “The typical U.S. home is worth 4.2% more than it was a year ago. In current million-dollar cities, the median year-over-year home value growth is 4.6%.”

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com