While the real estate market has begun to stabilize in some regions of the country, home affordability may still be out of reach for many Americans.

A new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) found that across the nation, home prices have escalated by 54.9 percent between the first quarter of 2020 and the third quarter of 2025. More than half of the country’s metropolitan areas exceeded that rate.

“Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, house prices have surged nationally,” the report stated. “House prices continued to rise in the third quarter of 2025, though the pace of growth slowed as elevated mortgage rates, affordability challenges, and persistent economic uncertainty weighed on consumer demand.”

Topping the nation’s list of home price surges is Knoxville, Tennessee, which saw an 88.4 percent increase since the first quarter of 2020. Atlantic City–Hammonton, New Jersey, was a close second, with an 88.3 percent hike.

Also listed among the top 10 metros with the largest percentages of home price increases are Morriston, Tennessee, with an 85.2 percent jump; Savannah, Georgia, with an 82.1 percent growth; Homosassa Springs, Florida, at 80.4 percent; and Missoula, Montana, at 80.3 percent.

Odessa, Texas, on the other hand, saw the lowest price increases over the past five years, at 18.3 percent.

Four Louisiana and three California metros placed on the bottom 10 market lists, with the New Orleans–Metairie experiencing a 21.8 percent price hike, and the San Francisco–Oakland–Fremont metro at a 23.3 percent.

Citing a third-quarter Housing Price Index released by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, NAHB noted that U.S. home prices rose 3.3 percent in the third quarter of 2025 from the same period in 2024.

“This represents the slowest year-over-year price appreciation since 2013, indicating a cooling in the housing market following a decade of robust price growth,” the report stated.

Meanwhile, NAMB noted that 226 metro areas have experienced varying degrees of price decline from their post-COVID-19 pandemic peaks, ranging from 0.1 percent to 12.7 percent.

On a statewide basis, NAMB reports that between the third quarter of 2024 and the third quarter of 2025, 48 states and the District of Columbia experienced positive year-over-year housing price appreciation, with increases from 0.6 percent to 6.8 percent. Only Hawaii recorded a decline, and Florida’s home price appreciation remained flat.

New York State led the nation with a 6.8 percent growth in home prices, followed by Connecticut at 6.5 percent, and Illinois at 6.2 percent. Statewide, Colorado experienced the lowest home price appreciation at 0.6 percent.

Last month, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that October’s nationwide existing single-family median home price was $420,600—a 2.2 percent increase from October 2024.  The median home price for all existing housing types was $415,200 in October 2025—up 2.1 percent from last year.