Home prices rose faster than ever in 2021. The typical home gained $50,000 in value

home prices 2021
New homes under construction in Mebane, N.C., earlier this month. A historic shortage of homes for sale has been pushing prices sharply higher. So builders are trying to ramp up projects. (Gerry Broome/AP)

Home values rose faster than ever in 2021. The median sales price for an existing home was $346,900, up a whopping 17% from the prior year.

That made things tough for people looking to buy a house for the first time.

But for those who already own the roof over their head, the typical American homeowner saw a gain of $50,200 in home equity, or housing wealth, in just a single year.