By Ricardo Lezama 
The American housing market seems to be continuing a topsy-turvy ride recently despite the sudden fall in equity markets. According to reports aggregated from REDFIN, the real estate company accused of price gouging and promoting real estate asset inflation, the city of Anaheim has now helped Orange County breached the trillion dollar value mark for its region’s aggregate home values.
The unprecedented surge in property values has been observed in some areas. Specifically, the total value of the housing market has exceeded the trillion-dollar mark in eight US regional markets; Orange County, Los Angeles, and six other US markets have breached this critical dollar figure.
Orange County: One Of The Tightest Housing Markets In The Nation.
— Scott Choppin (@ScottChoppin) March 3, 2024
OC is one of our active markets for workforce housing investment and development. As the article suggests, we need to build a whole lot more.
Here’s a flythrougn of our previously completed Urban Town House… https://t.co/T8ysGh4hiJ pic.twitter.com/AEOu6n7uh7
This is a sharp upward shift from the previous year when only four regions were reported to have reached this high-value mark. Such a skyrocketing phenomenon in home prices in such a short span is a clear sign of how volatile the property market can be.
Top 10 Metro Regions
| Metro | Aggregate Home Value | Year over Year Increase | |
| 1 | New York, NY | $2,479,781,753,057 | $189,976,135,666 |
| 2 | Los Angeles, CA | $2,188,583,730,489 | $127,975,276,850 |
| 3 | Atlanta, GA | $1,287,842,232,673 | $62,317,379,190 |
| 4 | Boston, MA | $1,275,370,527,296 | $85,007,545,179 |
| 5 | Anaheim, CA | $1,118,903,198,701 | $121,035,890,228 |
| 6 | Chicago, IL | $1,078,649,184,844 | $84,942,434,115 |
| 7 | Washington, DC | $1,053,880,089,173 | $67,099,426,402 |
| 8 | Phoenix, AZ | $1,001,000,889,736 | $52,632,267,259 |
| 9 | San Diego, CA | $986,866,999,457 | $87,633,883,434 |
| 10 | Seattle, WA | $970,865,521,164 | $75,384,091,030 |
Are Housing Prices Peaking?
However, things are not as rosy as they seem. It is worth mentioning that amidst rising home values, the US housing market is also experiencing a slowdown. Despite a counterintuitive drop in mortgage rates to 6.47%, the market has shown signs of sluggishness characterized by low buyer demand and recurring price reductions. Experts attribute this slowdown to inflation and high real rates.
Affordability, or the lack of it, is now a concern underlined by industry experts. They are calling for systemic solutions to housing and planning problems and advocating for support for first-time buyers. The contradictory nature of the housing market is drawing concern and criticism as it struggles under policy changes, economic shifts, and market forces. Overall, the state of fluctuating home values and slow buyer demand is a testament to the many challenges the modern housing market is grappling with.