Due to supply and demand factors, housing has become increasingly more expensive; U.S. and Missouri home
values have seen double-digit annual growth rates since 2020. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified growth in
housing values, but U.S. demographic trends, low mortgage rates and home listings scarcity planted the seeds
for home value increases several years back.
Missouri Housing is More Affordable than Housing in Most States
Over the past few years millennials shopping for homes and banks financing mortgages at low rates
collectively pushed up prices for housing, which increasingly have been in short supply. The COVID-19
pandemic created additional pressure as existing homeowners remodeled residences to accommodate remote
work and, therefore, increased competition for construction labor. Construction worker and supply shortages
also hinder current housing developments.
Missouri Economy Indicators
Housing Value Trends
VOL. 3, ISSUE 7, 16 MAY 2022
Gains in Home Values
Accelerate in Missouri
The value of a typical Missouri single-family
home in first-quarter 2022 averaged $219,360,
according to Zillow.com. For the U.S., the value
averaged $332,816.
Annual average home values grew by over 5%
for Missouri and the U.S. in the five years
before 2020, but price growth accelerated to
more than 10% between first-quarter 2020 to
first-quarter 2021. By the first-quarter of 2022,
year-over-year home value growth exceeded
16% for Missouri and 20% for the U.S.
This growth in home values coincides with
rising demand from first-time home buyers,
who have a median age of 33 — right in the
middle of the millennials, the nation’s largest
generation. This trend coupled with fewer
active Missouri home listings — less than
8,000 on average per month in first-quarter
2022 compared to more than 26,000 in 2017
— has accelerated price growth.
Source: MU Extension graphic using 2015-22 Zillow single-family
home data.
Annual Percent Change in Missouri and
U.S. Single-Family Housing Values
First-quarter 2015-19 five-year average and last two years
ending in first-quarter 2022
5.2%
10.4%
16.4%
5.4%
10.2%
20.5%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
2015 Q1 - 2020 Q1
Avg. Annual Change
2020 Q1 - 2021 Q1
Annual Change
2021 Q1 - 2022 Q1
Annual Change
Missouri United States
Despite this trend, Missouri single-family homes are still relatively affordable compared with homes in most
states. In first-quarter 2022, Missouri’s typical home value — $219,000 — ranked as the 39th lowest among all
U.S. states. It was also less than values in three surrounding states: Tennessee ($275,000), Illinois ($256,000)
and Nebraska ($231,000). Between first-quarter 2021 and first-quarter 2022, year-over-year home value
growth of 16% ranked Missouri 28th among all states. Utah, Florida and Arizona had the highest annual home
value growth rates at nearly 30%.
Housing Value Increases Vary across Missouri
As expected, Missouri home values are
highest in metropolitan counties and
retirement or vacation areas around the
Lake of the Ozarks and Branson. Camden
and St. Charles counties had the highest
home values of $369,000 and $330,000,
respectively, in first-quarter 2022.
From first-quarter 2021 to first-quarter
2022, year-over-year home value growth
varied widely across the state. Camden
County saw the largest increase at 39.9%.
Many counties in metropolitan areas also
saw above-average growth. Some less
populated counties (e.g., Mercer) had
large gains in home values as well.
However, due to lower home prices in
small rural counties, these gains may still
be relatively modest.
Rising mortgage rates could slow home-
price growth during the remainder of 2022. However, continued housing demand from millennials and a
shortage of available homes for purchase could place upward pressure on housing prices for years to come.
Additional Resources and Notes
• This analysis used a three-month county housing average of Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) data for first-quarter
2015-22. For a given county, the ZHVI value represents a seasonally adjusted, middle-of-the-market value for single-
family housing that is smoothed to reduce short-term variability. Data for some counties were not available. All
sources of county monthly home data face quality issues (e.g., volatility, low volume), especially in sparsely
populated areas. For these reasons, using several months of data helps to better understand local housing trends.
• The National Association of Realtors produced 2021 national statistics for home buyers and sellers. Active listings
data are available from Realtor.com.
All briefs in the economy indicators series and future updates will be at tinyurl.com/ExceedEconomyIndicators
Author: Alan Spell, Assistant Extension Professor, alan.sp[email protected]
Percent Change in Typical Housing Values
Year-over-year change from first-quarter 2021 to 2022
Source: MU Extension graphic using 2022
Zillow Single-Family Housing data.
