Mapping Home Price Changes

by Trends Staff

Prices of homes in the U.S. housing market have been on an upward trend since before 2020, and except for a small dip in 2023, they have continued to grow since Starting in 2020, however, these changes became very dynamic, and are best represented visually to see how they affect different communities. The housing market often reflects larger economic trends in a region, and the “Mapping Home Price Changes” tool from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York can help visualize these trends as they develop.  

The map is interactive and shows the one-year difference in price for many counties across the county, starting in January 2003 and continuing to September 2024. Counties in shades of blue represent rising house prices; counties in yellow show decreasing prices from the previous year; counties in white lack enough data to build an accurate calculation. The sliding bar at the top of the map allows the user to either select a specific month and year to see the rate, or to start from the desired moth and year and – after clicking the play button in the upper left corner – update the map month after month. 

In Washington, the state saw significant increases in housing prices starting around January 2021, and by July most of the housing had increased by over 20% from the previous year, with some counties surpassing 30%. This increased rate of growth continued until around January 2023 when some counties began to see decreasing prices, until January 2024 when most had balanced out to a moderate rate of growth.  

Home prices in Chelan and Douglas counties had only increased since 2012, including the otherwise-statewide dip in prices that was seen in 2023. Starting in March 2024 however, local prices began decreasing, in what seems to be a delayed response to the changes previously seen by the rest of the state.  

Changes in the housing market can be caused by many factors, but the commonly assumed reason for the large increases in home prices in 2021 was the large increase in demand for housing during the pandemic. Visit Chelan-Douglas Trends to learn more about housing and other trends in Chelan and Douglas counties.