Since Zillow launched in February 2006, the total value of the U.S. housing market has more than doubled to $55.1 trillion, fueled by surging prices and a chronic supply deficit of 4.7 million homes, according to a report released Monday by the real estate marketplace behemoth.
The 20-year retrospective reveals a volatile landscape for American homebuyers. While today’s mortgage burden — consuming 32.3% of a median income — is slightly better than the bubble-era peak of 34.2% in 2006, it remains significantly costlier than pre-pandemic norms. Zillow attributes the ongoing affordability challenges primarily to a “deepening supply gap” caused by underbuilding in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and housing meltdown.
The report highlights how drastically the barrier to entry has shifted over two decades. In 2006, the total value of the U.S. housing market stood at roughly $25.8 trillion. Today’s $55.1 trillion valuation represents a massive accumulation of housing wealth, with home equity now serving as the largest source of wealth for a substantial portion of households.
However, this appreciation has come at a cost to new market entrants. While the share of income required to pay a mortgage is lower today than in 2006, the comparison masks the favorable conditions seen just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In February 2020, a median-income household spent only 23.6% of its income on a typical mortgage payment, and a salary of roughly $52,000 was sufficient to purchase a typical home. By February 2026, that required salary had jumped to approximately $93,000.
Despite this stark shift, there are signs of easing pressure. A typical mortgage payment is 8.4% lower than it was a year ago, Zillow noted, citing earlier research.
Supply deficits persist but healthier dynamics prevail
Zillow identifies the lack of inventory as the root cause of the current affordability crisis. Single-family home construction peaked in 2005 before plummeting during the financial crisis. Construction levels have yet to fully recover to match demographic demand, leaving the market bereft of approximately 4.7 million homes, a figure drawn from earlier Zillow research.
“The effects of that shortage ripple across nearly every part of the housing market,” the report noted, citing increased competition and delayed homeownership for younger generations.
The good news is that the market has seemed to have shifted away from the speculative boom towns circa 2006, when markets like Phoenix, Miami and Tampa, Fla., saw annual appreciation topping 25%, a frenzy fueled by loose lending practices. And during the pandemic, Austin, Texas, eclipsed those records with 40.3% growth in the 12-month period ending in August 2021.
Now, however, Zillow views the market as being “in the healthiest place it’s been in some time” as home value growth is “much more muted.” Citing its earlier research, Zillow noted that home values were roughly flat across 2025, growing at a meager 0.2%. The current hottest market is Hartford, Conn., which has a 4.9% annual growth rate.
Zillow projects that by the end of 2026, typical homes in 20 major U.S. markets will once again be affordable to median-income households, marking a slow but meaningful improvement in the sector.
