This Is Exactly How Much Your Home's Value Will Change in 2021, Experts Say

luxury home, exterior of house — Artazum / Shutterstock

The COVID pandemic set the housing market on fire in 2020. Working from home for the foreseeable future had young urbanites looking for more space in the suburbs, making the competition fierce and seeing prices hit record highs. Approximately 5.65 million existing homes were sold in the U.S. in 2020, according to the Statista Research Department, and that number is projected to jump to 6.49 million this year. If you're a homeowner, you might be wondering how much you could get for your house and what buyers are most interested in. Now, a new survey from Zillow has some answers on your home's expected shift in value in 2021.

According to a Q4 2020 Zillow survey, the average home appreciated by more than $20,000 last year. And a new report released in April called the Zillow Home Price Expectations (ZHPE) survey, sponsored by Zillow and administered by independent research firm Pulsenomics, has further insight into how 2021 is shaping up. They surveyed real estate experts and economists between Feb. 15, 2021 and Mar. 1, 2021, and concluded that the average home's value will go up 6.2 percent in 2021.

"In the wake of last year's heady home equity gains, these new projections indicate that the aggregate value of homes across the country will increase by another $2 trillion in 2021," Terry Loebs, founder of Pulsenomics, said in a statement. "This is great news for existing homeowners."

Zillow economist Arpita Chakravorty, PhD, said in a statement that she suspects more sellers to list their homes soon. "As the pandemic subsides and the economy begins to recover, lowered health risks and renewed homeowner financial confidence should bring more sellers to the market," Chakravorty said. "That increased inventory would ease buyer competition that has driven prices higher during the pandemic, but expect a steady pace of home value growth to persist into the near future."

If you're thinking of selling your home, you probably want to know what will cause a bidding war. According to another March survey from Zillow, there are quite a few things that make a home sell for more than expected. Here are the top 10, ranked by how much more homes with these features sold for than expected. And for more ways to up your home's perceived worth, check out 50 Clever Ways to Instantly Add Value to Your Home.