10 Places Where Home Prices Have Doubled in No Time

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Point2Homes.

The national median home price has yo-yoed toward twice what it was 10 years ago. The average home in the United States went from around $200,000 to $400,000, molded by an unrelenting storm of inflation, tight supply, and surging demand.

With that in mind, let’s gather around the fire and reminisce about an enchanted era when homes used to cost half what they do now. That magical time was … not even a decade ago.

Back then, demand had not yet intensified by a world-altering global pandemic, and the national home price hadn’t geared up for historical hikes.

Generational housing dichotomy also wasn’t making headlines, and millennials were just fresh-faced homebuyers anticipating a reasonably priced starter home. But, much like millennials’ homeownership plans, a lot has changed since then.

Fluctuating mortgage rates, steep property prices, or supply deficits are no new challenges. But they have never unleashed such a rapid-fire onslaught on homebuyers in the U.S. as they have in today’s housing market.

So, with 20/20 hindsight and a shared regret for not buying years ago, we set to answer one simple question: Did prices really double so fast? To find out, Point2 analysts looked at historical data to calculate how many years it took for home prices in U.S. cities to double and hit today’s market rates.

1. Detroit, MI

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 4.9 years

2. Spokane, WA

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 5.9 years

3. Tampa, FL

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6 years

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4. Miami, FL

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6 years

5. Baltimore, MD

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.1 years

6. Scottsdale, AZ

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.2 years

7. Buffalo, NY

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.4 years

8. St. Petersburg, FL

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.6 years

9. Jersey City, NJ

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.8 years

10. Phoenix, AZ

• Time it took for median home prices to double: 6.8 years

Methodology

Point2, a division of Yardi Systems Inc., covers real estate trends and news. Point2 studies are based on internal data, public records, governmental sources, online research and other reliable third-party agencies.

• For this study, we considered the 100 largest U.S. cities, according to the most recent population data from the U.S. Census Bureau. New York City was split into five boroughs.
• The study uses data as far back as January 2000 to determine when homes were sold for half the median price they do as of February 2024.
• Sources for historical price data include Redfin, Zillow, Realtor, PropertyShark, and local MLSs.
• In the few cases where home prices did not double in this timeframe (January 2000 to February 2024), we selected the lowest price point within this period.
• Manhattan was excluded from single-family home price calculations due to extreme historic price fluctuations caused by few transactions.