Summer homebuying season continues to heat up.
In new data released by realtor.com on Wednesday, listing views in suburban ZIP codes grew 13% in May, nearly doubling the pace of growth in urban areas.
Suburban listing views in May 2020 surpassed listing views from May 2019, realtor.com said, as well as the start of the year. Of the nation’s 100 largest metros, 54% are seeing more interest in the suburbs.
According to last week’s realtor.com Housing Market Recovery Index, the housing demand component reached 114 last week, down 5.7 points over the previous week but still above January’s baseline. The home price component also surpassed the recovery threshold, with this week’s index reaching 100.7, up 1.2 points over the prior week and 0.7 points above the January baseline.
“This migration to the suburbs is not a new trend, but it has become more pronounced this spring,” Javier Vivas, realtor.com director of economic research, said in a statement. “After several months of shelter-in-place orders, the desire to have more space and the potential for more people to work remotely are likely two of the factors contributing to the popularity of the burbs.”
Time on the market increased by 25% in rural areas, 30% in suburban areas and 35% in urban areas.
Realtor.com noted that even though housing market interest has returned to the suburbs with property views stronger than pre-COVID levels, the rising demand has yet to materialize into home sales or a faster pace of sales.
Homebuyers are just dipping their toes back into the market.
“Suburban interest typically peaks during the summer, as families look to move before the start of the school year,” Vivas continued. “However, suburban interest in May outpaced last year’s July peak, which could indicate even stronger interest in the suburbs as the summer home-buying season continues to heat up.”
Here are the top 10 metros where suburban listing views increased most year over year:
- McAllen, Texas is shifting toward Mission (ZIP: 78572)
- Oklahoma City is shifting toward Norman, Oklahoma (ZIP: 73072)
- Augusta, Georgia is shifting toward Aiken, South Carolina (ZIP: 29801)
- Fresno, California Is shifting toward Kingsburg, California (ZIP: 93631)
- Minneapolis is shifting toward Andover, Minnesota (ZIP: 55304)
- Durham, North Carolina is shifting toward Rougemont, North Carolina (ZIP: 27572)
- Raleigh, North Carolina is shifting toward Clayton, North Carolina (ZIP: 27527)
- Colorado Springs, Colorado is shifting toward Peyton, Colorado (ZIP: 80831)
- Greensboro, North Carolina is shifting toward Brown’s Summit, North Carolina (ZIP: 27214)
- Knoxville, Tennessee is shifting toward Louden, Tennessee (ZIP: 37774)
