The 15 Most Expensive Housing Markets in the US: Real Estate with the Highest Average Home Prices

Home prices may have peaked in the summer of 2022, but the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. are still shockingly pricey. 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index is up 5.58% since February of last year. The 20-city index, which measures only the very largest metro housing markets, is up 6.13% over the same time frame. 

Both indexes are still up about 9.85% and 9.62% respectively over the past three years, however, and experts see mounting evidence that the recent increase in home prices may already be coming to an end. 

After nine months of steadily increasing housing prices in the U.S., price growth has now decreased for the second month in a row according to the Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index,

The bottom line is that despite some recent relief, the most expensive housing markets in the U.S. remain exceedingly costly by historical standards and they aren’t expected to get much cheaper anytime soon. 

To determine what average home prices look like on the ground in the nation’s most expensive housing markets, we turned to the latest data from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER). Their cost of living index measures prices in 265 urban areas for housing, groceries, utilities, transportation, healthcare, and miscellaneous goods and services (such as getting your hair done or going to a movie).

Signs of inflation abound, but home prices are what really stand out. As of the end of 2023, the average price of a home in the U.S. came to $500,584, according to C2ER. That’s up from $452,510 just one year — or an increase of nearly 10%.