| Homes in Greater Boston gained $33 billion in total value this year, a 5.5 percent increase from last year, according to a Zillow report.
The report also concluded the cumulative value of all Greater Boston homes is $634 billion and that renters paid $13.4 billion in rent in 2015. In November, home values in Boston rose from 5.4 percent to $381,700 and rent rose 7 percent to $2,245.
Nationally, the cumulative value of all homes was $28.5 trillion by the end of 2015, up 4.1 percent from last year. U.S. renters paid $535 billion as the number of renter households increased by 1.8 million over the past year. In November, home values were up 3.9 percent to a Zillow Home Value Index of $183,000. The Zillow Home Value Index is the median estimated market value for an individual home for a given geographic area on a given day.
Housing stock value grew 4.1 percent over the last year, slower than the 6 percent growth in 2014. The total value of all homes regained $5.3 trillion since hitting its lowest point in December 2011.
“This reminds us of the large role housing plays in the overall economy,” Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Svenja Gudell said in a statement. “Total home value growth slowed this year, but there was still a significant increase in overall value, and many markets are more valuable than they’ve ever been. At the same time, more renter households and rising rents combined to set new records in rental spending in 2015. Americans are spending a lot of money on housing, and that will make affordability an important issue next year.”
Renters of single-family homes and apartments spent about the same amount on rent this year, with apartment renters paying $239 billion and single-family home renters paying $245 billion. Geographically, renters in the New York/ Northern New Jersey metro area spent the most on rent in 2015 – about $56 billion.
Denver home values grew fastest for the tenth consecutive month at 15.5 percent annual appreciation. Rents also grew 3.8 percent annually to a Zillow Rent Index of $1,382 and the pace of rental appreciation slowed over the past four months. The Zillow Rent Index represents the median estimated monthly rental price for a given geographic area on a given day.
