Revealed: The states that are winning - and losing - the American real estate game, a decade after the U.S. housing bubble burst

  • The economic downturn of 2008 sent real estate markets spiraling and drove down prices around the U.S.
  •  Since then, median house prices in 41 states and Washington D.C. have rebounded to surpass 2007 levels
  • However the U.S. housing market hasn't fully recovered from the 2008 financial crash, with home prices in nine states still below 2007 levels - and many more states seeing only modest increases over the past 10 years
  • Nevada has taken the biggest hit, with prices down 17 percent from what they were in 2007 to reach a median home price of $258,200, while prices rose the most (82 percent) in North Dakota to reach $194,700 in 2017

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The U.S. housing market still hasn't fully rebounded from the financial crash of 2008, with median home prices still below 2007 levels in nine states, according to a new analysis.

Researchers at HowMuch.net built a set of maps that illustrates the median home values in each of the 50 U.S. states in 2007 and in 2017. In other words, just before the economic downturn of 2008 struck, sending housing prices on a downward spiral - and a decade later when markets were supposed to have recovered. 

They found that while median prices have surpassed 2007 levels in much of the country, nine states actually have lost ground and many more have seen only modest increases. 

'This shows once again that there is no national housing market,' said Jonathan Miller, president and CEO of Miller Samuel Inc., a New York City-based real estate and appraisal firm. 'Every market performs differently' 

 

'On the East and West Coast is where the most volatility is, generally speaking, and then you have more modest (pricing) conditions in the Midwest,' Miller told DailyMail.com. 'And you can see that most of the states that have some kind of decline are on the East or West Coast with the exception of Illinois, which saw a tremendous amount of foreclosure.' 

Prior to the housing bubble bursting, the most affordable place to buy a home in the U.S. was primarily in the middle of the country, away from the coasts.

That more affordable region in 2007 stretched from Texas in the South all the way to North Dakota at the Canadian border, with median home values ranging from about $100,000-$122,000.

At the same time, California had the highest median home prices in the nation ($532,300), followed by Northeastern states, including New Jersey ($372,300), Massachusetts ($366,400) and New York ($311,000).

Meanwhile, pockets around the Great Lakes and in the landlocked western states (Colorado, Utah and Montana, for example) offered more affordable options in between the two extremes.

Then the economic downturn of 2008 hit, sending real estate markets spiraling, with housing prices dropping in nearly every corner of the country from 2008-2009.

Since then, the median house prices have recovered in 41 states and Washington D.C. to at least surpass 2007 levels.

However, not all of those are huge upticks –22 states saw values increase 20 percent or less over the past decade, including Hampshire (0.7 percent increase), Michigan (1.7 percent), North Carolina (4.3 percent), Minnesota (4.9 percent) and Massachusetts (5.2 percent).

And while the middle of the country remains the most affordable, that stretch from Texas to North Dakota has seen some of the largest price increases in the country. Prices rose the most in North Dakota, increasing 82.3 percent to reach a $194,700 median home price in 2017.

Colorado came second with a 49.2 percent increase to a $348,900 median home price, followed by Texas (42.4 percent to total $172,200), South Dakota (41.2 percent to reach $167,600) and Montana (36.1 percent to total $231,300).

But the housing market remains behind 2007 levels in 18 percent of the country. Nevada has taken the biggest hit, with prices down 17 percent from what they were in 2007 to reach a median home price of $258,200.

This map illustrates the median home values in each of the 50 U.S. states in 2007 and in 2017. In other words, just before the economic downturn of 2008 struck, sending housing prices on a downward spiral

This map illustrates the median home values in each of the 50 U.S. states in 2007 and in 2017. In other words, just before the economic downturn of 2008 struck, sending housing prices on a downward spiral

This map illustrates the median home values in each of the 50 U.S. states in 2017, nearly a decade after the economic downturn of 2008 sent housing prices on a downward spiral. It also shows the percent of change in home prices in each state, with nine states experiencing a further deterioration in their real estate markets

This map illustrates the median home values in each of the 50 U.S. states in 2017, nearly a decade after the economic downturn of 2008 sent housing prices on a downward spiral. It also shows the percent of change in home prices in each state, with nine states experiencing a further deterioration in their real estate markets

Four states – California, Nevada, Arizona and Florida – were known as the most vulnerable when the bubble burst because they were highly speculative – in other words, people were quitting their jobs to get into real estate and flip houses in those states, Miller said.

'That's where conditions were the frothiest of nearly every state in the country,' he said 'You can see that all four of them have not recovered to their pre-housing bubble peak. And the worst of them is Nevada.'

Las Vegas had the largest decline in home prices in the country when the bubble burst and is still trying to claw its way back, Miller said. 

Other states have also struggled to rebound, including, Rhode Island ( down 12.0 percent to reach a median price of $257,800), Connecticut (down 11.7 percent to $273,100) and New Jersey (down 10.0 percent to $334,900).

Median home prices also fell 9.9 percent in Maryland, 7.1 percent in Florida, 6.5 percent in Illinois, 6 percent in Arizona and 4.3 percent in California. 

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