As more professionals have been able to work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic, they’re fundamentally changing the real estate landscape. Smaller, cheaper parts of the country have edged out the bigger, pricier cities to become the nation’s hottest housing markets as those who can work from anywhere are chasing affordability.
In August, Burlington, NC, where buyers can snag lower-priced homes, reclaimed the No. 1 position on the Realtor.com® monthly hottest markets list. The last time the metro, which lies conveniently between Winston-Salem and Raleigh, snagged the top spot was in November.
“With home prices near record highs and still growing, buyers are looking for homes in communities with solid local economies which offer good jobs,” says George Ratiu, manager of economic research at Realtor.com. “At the same time, buyers also want larger homes, better quality of life in their communities, and access to the outdoors.
“The most in-demand real estate markets in August highlight the appeal of small and midsized cities across the country, amid continued interest in remote work and rising affordability concerns,” adds Ratiu.
The Realtor.com economics team came up with its ranking of the hottest U.S. markets for real estate by tracking the metropolitan areas where homes are selling the quickest and where the most potential buyers are clicking on property listings on Realtor.com. (Metros include the main city and surrounding suburbs, towns, and smaller urban areas.)
With record-high prices that keep rising, affordability is clearly on the mind of buyers. The average median home list price in the 20 hottest markets, spread out across 17 states, was just $299,000 in August, according to Realtor.com data. That was 21.4% lower than the national median price tag of $380,000.