By Tyler Durden,

One of the most dominant stories since the COVID pandemic began has been the fiercely competitive housing market. The median sales price of a home in the US climbed above $400,000, as aggressive bidding wars drove home prices higher.

The current challenges of the housing market have come from a potent combination of supply- and demand-side factors. For example, the US has failed to build enough homes for years, with mortgage lender Freddie Mac estimating a shortage of 3.8 million housing units as of 2020.

The result has been a surge in homes sold for $1 million or more - the cutoff for what's considered a luxury home.

Source: ISN

The COVID pandemic has brought additional struggles, as supply chain constraints and labor shortages have raised costs and made it difficult for builders to keep up. On the demand side, millennials have reached a peak period for buying homes after a years-long run of low mortgage rates attracted buyers into the market.

More recently, the pandemic led to higher wages for many professions and and a shift to remote work which has raised demand for larger homes.

While prices have been rising across the US, the states with the largest share of homes selling above $1 million are California and Hawaii.

Source: ISN

Finally, here's a breakdown of small and medium municipalities with the largest number of homes selling for more than $1 million.

Source : https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/california-hawaii-see-largest-share-homes-selling-1-million-or-more