In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. home sales slumped. Since then, however, the market has come roaring back — and rising demand, in conjunction with a relatively low supply of housing, has caused home values to surge.
According to estimates from Zillow, a Seattle-based real estate data company, between May 2020 and May 2021, the typical single-family American home appreciated in value from $253,773 to $287,148, a 13.2% increase. Of course, housing markets also respond more to local forces, and not all parts of the country followed the national pattern.
In Birmingham, a city of about 212,300 residents in Alabama’s Birmingham-Hoover metro area, home values are rising even faster than they are nationwide. The typical single family home in Birmingham was worth $85,152 as of May 2021, 19.2% more than what it was worth one year ago.
One factor that can contribute to rapidly climbing home prices at a local level is demand. And demand for housing is often precipitated by a growing population. However, according to the most recent available Census data, over the last one-year period, Birmingham’s population remained effectively unchanged .
Nationwide, the typical home value is about 4.6 times higher than the median household income of $62,843. In Birmingham, housing is generally more affordable. The typical single-family home value is about 2.3 times higher than the local median household income of $37,375.
Here are the three communities with populations of at least 25,000 in Alabama where home values climbed the most in the last year.
This is How Much Home You Can Buy For 200K in Every State
| Rank in state | Place | 1-yr. increase in typical home value | Current typical home value ($) | 1-yr. change in median income | Current median household income ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Decatur | 20.0% | 159,281 | 7.5% | 48,429 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 19.2% | 85,152 | 5.7% | 37,375 |
| 3 | Huntsville | 16.3% | 220,986 | 2.7% | 55,305 |
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