Against climbing prices and severe shortages of supply, buyers are bypassing the suburbs, according to new research by realtor.com®. The areas garnering interest now are affordable (relatively), and have booming economies and sufficient supply, but are beyond the historically in-demand suburbs. The outliers to watch are: Spokane, Wash.; Portland, Maine; Knoxville, Tenn.; Deltona, Fla.; Boise, Idaho; Jacksonville, Fla.; Charleston, S.C.; North Port, Fla.; Bakersfield, Calif.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Demand is pouring into these secondaries, says Javier Vivas, director of Economic Research at realtor.com. Realtor.com researchers based their findings on inbound realtor.com search/outbound search ratios, which can futurecast sales.
“Buyers have traditionally sought refuge in the suburbs during times of high home prices, but with today’s record highs even the suburbs have gotten pricey, which has demand flooding outward as options disappear and prices move further out of reach in top job hubs,” Vivas says.
Across the top 10, 1.3 percent of homes are on the market (higher than the 0.9 percent in the 100 biggest metros), average employment growth is 1.8 percent, and the average unemployment rate is 3.9 percent. Nationally, the unemployment rate is 4.1 percent.
Breaking down the top 10:
- Spokane
Median List Price: $264,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Seattle ($500,000 median list price)
- Portland
Median List Price: $340,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Boston ($493,000 median list price)
- Knoxville
Median List Price: $247,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Sevierville ($255,000 median list price)
- Deltona
Median List Price: $270,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Miami ($388,000 median list price)
- Boise
Median List Price: $299,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Los Angeles ($706,000 median list price)
- Jacksonville
Median List Price: $307,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Miami ($388,000 median list price)
- Charleston
Median List Price: $364,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: New York ($474,000 median list price)
- North Port
Median List Price: $350,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: New York ($474,000 median list price)
- Bakersfield
Median List Price: $239,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Los Angeles ($706,000 median list price)
- Chattanooga
Median List Price: $230,000
Origin Realtor.com Search: Atlanta ($300,000 median list price)
For more information, please visit www.realtor.com.
Suzanne De Vita is RISMedia’s online news editor. Email her your real estate news ideas at sdevita@rismedia.com. For the latest real estate news and trends, bookmark RISMedia.com.
