U.S. homeowners gained a whopping $9.1 trillion of housing value over the last year, according to a report published by Redfin this week. The report noted that home-price growth and a severe shortage of inventory worked in tandem to push housing values to record highs in 2021.

As a result, the value of U.S. homes grew by 31.4% from last year to a total of $38.3 trillion in November, beating a 9.7% annual increase seen in November 2020.

Furthermore, November marked the 16^th month of double-digit price gains, as homes for sale continued to shrink, Redfin said.

Daryl Fairweather, chief economist at Redfin, said in a statement that the surge in housing values during the pandemic has contributed to a widening gap between homeowners and renters in America.

“Homeowners have seen their wealth increase significantly over the past year, while renters have missed out on those gains and are now grappling with rent inflation,” Fairweather said.

However, she added that the “silver lining is that housing values didn’t just climb in large affluent cities” as homeowners in rural America also saw “substantial” home-value increases.

Redfin’s report found that rural home values climbed by 46.2% year over year to a total of $4.9 trillion in November, while the value of urban homes increased 31.3% to $8 trillion. Meanwhile, the value of suburban homes rose by 25.9% to $24.1 trillion.

The notable increase in the value of rural homes, said the real estate brokerage, is in part due to the pandemic with remote workers earlier in the year fleeing overcrowded cities in exchange for extra space and relative affordability in rural or suburban areas.

Additionally, the report found that millennials are reaping the benefits of becoming homeowners, with the value of homes owned by millennials increasing 34.3% year over year to a total of $4.6 trillion in the third quarter.

“Millennials have taken up an increasing share of the U.S. housing market,” Redfin said. “Many of them bought their first home in 2020 — when housing values began to skyrocket — which meant they saw significant wealth gains during their first year of homeownership.”

Another interesting finding from the report is that high-fire-risk homes are worth 42% more than a year ago, while the value of homes in areas with high flood, storm, heat and drought risk climbed by 30%.

Per the report, high-fire-risk areas are “hot spots for second homes, which have been in high demand during the pandemic as affluent Americans have sought respite from city life.”