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How Much Does Your House Make an Hour?

The median home value in the United States rose from $195,400 to $210,200 — a 7.5 percent increase — between February 2017 and February 2018.

But according to a study from Zillow, there is another way to think about it: Over the course of a year, that increase amounts to a little more than $7 an hour, if you imagine your home working a 40-hour week for you.

The amount the median American home “earned” is just shy of the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, but in 24 of the 50 largest cities in the country the median-priced home increased in value by more than the local minimum wage.

And some cities saw spectacular gains. In San Jose, Calif., the median-priced home “earned” almost $100 an hour over the course of the year, far surpassing the local minimum wage of $13.50.

While homeowners made big gains, however, renters and potential buyers did not: Over the same time period, rents went up about three percent, making it harder to save for a down payment.

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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section RE, Page 2 of the New York edition with the headline: If Your House Punched the Clock. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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