Superstar City Premiums: Pre- vs. Post-Covid
This chart compares what a typical home costs relative to the national typical home in six coastal superstar metros, at two moments: June 2019, the last pre-pandemic June, and the latest month. Each city gets its own color and the columns sit close together, so the angle of each line carries the size of the change - San Francisco's premium compressed by about a fifth, while New York and Los Angeles barely moved.
What does it show?
Every coastal superstar's housing premium compressed through the pandemic cycle. San Francisco compressed most: from 3.76 times the national typical home to 3.06 (-19%).
Methodology
Each metro's Zillow Home Value Index divided by the U.S. index — the typical home's multiple of the national typical home — compared at two same-calendar-month anchors: June 2019, the last pre-pandemic June, and the latest month. Same-month anchoring removes any residual seasonality from the comparison, and the right anchor rolls forward with each refresh. ZHVI is a mid-market (35th-65th percentile) measure, so this is the typical home, not the mean. Data provided by Zillow Group; terms verified 2026-07-31.