How Much Home Has $1 Bought Over Time?
A dollar buys 1.1 square inches of the typical U.S. home -- but how has that changed over time?
Written by Matthew Speakman on August 30, 2018
A dollar buys 1.1 square inches of the typical U.S. home -- but how has that changed over time?
Here's a graphic look at the answer, which is that a decade ago, a dollar bought 1.2 square inches and in 1998, 2.1 square inches.
In pricey San Jose, Calif., a dollar now buys just 0.2 of a square inch of a home. But 10 years ago, it would buy 0.37 of a square inch and in 1998 -- the year Google was founded -- a dollar bought 0.76 of a square inch.
San Francisco has a similar trajectory: A dollar currently buys 0.14 of an inch of home there -- the least space among major cities -- down from 0.24 of an inch in 2008 and 0.56 of an inch in 1998.
The amount of space for a dollar in Philadelphia is now just above the U.S., at 1.22 inches -- down from 1.55 in 2008 and a luxurious 3.79 inches in 1998.
Cleveland has gone the other direction in recent years. Currently, a buyer of a median-valued home in Cleveland would get 3.27 inches for the dollar -- up from 2.57 inches in 2008 and from 2.94 inches in 1998.
Here are the numbers for the 35 most populous cities (which does not include Cleveland):
| City | Zillow Home Value Index[i] (ZHVI) | YoY ZHVI Change | Square Inches for $1 in 1998 | Square Inches for $1 in 2008 | Square Inches for $1 in 2018 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $218,000 | 8.0% | 2.09 | 1.23 | 1.07 |
| New York | $672,200 | 6.4% | 1.01 | 0.38 | 0.28 |
| Los Angeles | $674,800 | 7.2% | 1.18 | 0.43 | 0.31 |
| Chicago | $225,600 | 2.1% | 1.58 | 0.74 | 0.85 |
| Houston | $179,400 | 7.0% | 2.57 | 1.95 | 1.40 |
| Philadelphia | $150,300 | 11.4% | 3.79 | 1.55 | 1.22 |
| Phoenix | $232,700 | 9.0% | 2.25 | 1.12 | 0.95 |
| Las Vegas | $262,200 | 15.4% | 1.82 | 1.08 | 0.94 |
| San Antonio | $168,600 | 8.1% | 2.62 | 1.89 | 1.37 |
| San Diego | $623,000 | 6.5% | 1.13 | 0.50 | 0.34 |
| Dallas | $194,100 | 13.8% | 2.48 | 1.80 | 1.04 |
| San Jose | $1,110,800 | 23.5% | 0.76 | 0.37 | 0.20 |
| Jacksonville | $166,500 | 10.3% | 2.67 | 1.44 | 1.35 |
| San Francisco | $1,366,000 | 9.2% | 0.56 | 0.24 | 0.14 |
| Indianapolis | $130,700 | 10.9% | 2.18 | 1.85 | 1.67 |
| Austin | $350,200 | 7.9% | 1.43 | 1.15 | 0.73 |
| Fort Worth | $185,200 | 10.4% | 2.62 | 2.09 | 1.36 |
| Columbus | $147,000 | 9.0% | 2.00 | 1.62 | 1.27 |
| Memphis | $83,300 | 8.3% | 3.13 | 2.88 | 2.53 |
| Charlotte | $213,400 | 11.0% | 2.03 | 1.58 | 1.21 |
| El Paso | $124,200 | 3.7% | 2.72 | 1.78 | 1.69 |
| Boston | $588,000 | 6.3% | 1.01 | 0.46 | 0.26 |
| Seattle | $753,600 | 8.1% | 1.03 | 0.47 | 0.28 |
| Baltimore | $117,100 | 33.2% | 2.88 | 1.21 | 1.33 |
| Denver | $416,100 | 7.6% | 1.33 | 0.79 | 0.41 |
| Washington | $569,100 | 5.0% | 1.33 | 0.41 | 0.28 |
| Nashville | $256,700 | 10.1% | 2.12 | 1.47 | 0.92 |
| Milwaukee | $114,800 | 10.6% | 2.40 | 1.33 | 1.50 |
| Tucson | $ 181,000 | 7.5% | 2.18 | 1.16 | 1.19 |
| Portland | $424,700 | 0.9% | 1.47 | 0.73 | 0.48 |
| Oklahoma City | $126,400 | 2.3% | 3.51 | 2.12 | 1.71 |
| Omaha | $167,900 | 7.6% | 1.92 | 1.53 | 1.15 |
| Albuquerque | $194,300 | 6.2% | 1.76 | 1.07 | 1.06 |
| Fresno | $231,700 | 7.1% | 2.40 | 1.07 | 0.97 |
| Sacramento | $318,900 | 7.3% | 1.97 | 0.97 | 0.65 |
| Mesa | $240,200 | 7.8% | 2.09 | 1.19 | 0.96 |
[i] The Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) is the median estimated home value for a given geographic area on a given day and includes the value of all single-family residences, condominiums and cooperatives, regardless of whether they sold within a given period. It is expressed in dollars, and seasonally adjusted.
Sign up for Zillow Research updates
Subscribe to receive weekly emails for the latest Zillow research, weekly housing data, market insights and more.
Related Articles
Research in your inbox
Get the latest housing data and analysis from Zillow's economists — delivered when the numbers update.
