Big metro cities like San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles are notably absent from realtor.com®’s latest list of the top-performing housing markets in the country. Instead, more suburban areas—like Grand Rapids, Mich., and Omaha, Neb.--are topping the list.
Housing affordability has been fueling demand in smaller, more suburban housing markets, realtor.com®’s 2019 hottest ZIP codes report notes. The average home price of $272,000 in the hottest ZIPs is well below the current national median of $316,000. Five ZIP codes on this month’s list made their debut, and researchers say it’s likely due to their low home prices and driven by millennial homebuyers.
Homes in this year top 10 list are selling, on average, in 17 days—40 days faster than in the rest of the country. Also, visitors to realtor.com® are viewing these markets three times as much as the rest of the country.
Buyers are being priced out of larger cities, realtor.com® notes in the report. “Even though buyers are moving to smaller markets, they are looking to retain an urban lifestyle by living closer to the city center,” says Danielle Hale, realtor.com®’s chief economist. “This tells us that today’s home buyers are trying to have it all—proximity to downtown, room to grow, and affordability—and they’re finding it outside of the biggest cities in the U.S.”
The average commute distance from this year’s hottest 10 ZIP codes to their respective downtown areas is about 9 miles—4 miles closer compared to last year’s top 10, Hale notes.
The top 10 hottest markets also have another thing in common: A large number of high-earning millennials are pushing up demand. In the top 10 ZIPs, millennials’ salaries are 13% more than the national millennial median income. Millennials also are comprising the largest share of home buyers taking on a mortgage at 39%.
Source: realtor.com®
