Million-Dollar Homes Become the New Normal Across California and Major US Metros
Once considered a benchmark reserved exclusively for luxury mansions, million-dollar price tags are increasingly attached to standard single-family homes across California and major metropolitan regions in the United States.
According to a report released by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), nearly one out of every three owner-occupied homes in California—accounting for 31.3% of the state’s residential stock as of 2024—was valued at $1 million or higher. Industry analysts point to persistent housing supply shortages combined with concentrated job and population growth in major urban centers as the primary drivers normalizing seven-figure home valuations.
Hawaii holds the highest proportion of million-dollar homes nationwide, with approximately 40% of its housing stock meeting or exceeding the threshold. Washington, D.C. followed closely behind California at 31.5%, while Washington State recorded 17.4%, Massachusetts reached 15.5%, and New York logged 13.6%.
Nationwide, approximately 6.9 million residential properties are valued at $1 million or more, representing 8% of total housing stock. This figure reflects a fourfold increase over a 20-year span.
Home price appreciation has substantially outpaced broader economic inflation. According to the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index, national home values surged 225% between 2000 and 2026. Over the same timeframe, consumer price inflation roughly doubled, meaning home values grew more than three times as fast as general living expenses.
Psychological Price Bunching Masks True Valuation Levels
The NAR report highlighted that the actual percentage of homes worth $1 million may be higher than recorded due to pricing behavior among sellers.
Because $1 million serves as a major psychological barrier for prospective buyers, home sellers frequently list properties just below seven figures—a phenomenon known as “price bunching.” Even when a property’s market value reaches $1 million, sellers often list at $999,000 to maximize buyer interest and search visibility.
NAR transaction records show that since 2015, homes sold in the price band immediately below $1 million were 2.4 times more common than those sold in the bracket immediately above $1 million. Factoring in near-million-dollar listings, the proportion of seven-figure equivalent homes experienced by buyers is notably higher.
National Median Price Projected to Reach $1 Million by 2050
As home values continue to outpace general inflation, housing affordability challenges are expected to intensify over the coming decades.
Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the NAR, noted that the national median home price—which stood at approximately $430,000 last month—could cross $1 million by the year 2050. Drawing a parallel to San Francisco’s housing market, where the median home price was approximately $250,000 in 1990 before surging in subsequent decades, Yun expects similar long-term price expansion to unfold across the broader United States market.
