Heaps of US cities haven’t recovered from the recession

Home values in the country’s most expensive real estate markets have skyrocketed since the recession, but the cheapest metropolitan areas only saw minor increases.

After adjusting for inflation, median home values in the 10 most expensive metropolitan areas have jumped 63 percent since 2000, Bloomberg reported. In the least expensive metros, median prices increased by just 3.6 percent. The data comes from a annual report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies that was published Friday.

The report also found that residential real estate prices in three out of the five metropolitan areas are still beneath their pre-recession peak, according to the publication, with low-income neighborhoods showing particularly minor price increases.

It means that 59 percent of American households can afford to pay the median home price in their area, according to Bloomberg. However, there is a shortage of inventory in many markets due to a lack of construction. The report also notes that, in 2015, 11.1 million Americans spent half their income on rent.

In the first quarter in 2017, the median apartment price in Manhattan was $1.1 million, a 3 percent decline from last year, according to Douglas Elliman’s quarterly report. In Brooklyn, however, the median sale price during the quarter hit a record $770,000 — a 16 percent jump from the same period last year.  [Bloomberg] — Miriam Hall