CoreLogic publishes great industry data on the housing market. The first ever Hottest Cities annual report shows the top cities that are growing, where people are moving to, and how technology plays a leading role in the homebuying process. Take a look to see if your city is on the list!

The following is the introduction to the report by CoreLogic:

Affordable Metros are In for Homebuyers and Real Estate Agents

In 2020, a black swan landed on the real estate industry and created a wave of ‘firsts’ that would take homeowners and real estate agents for a wild ride. A mass shift to remote work. Record low mortgage interest rates. An unprecedented slowdown in new home construction. A growing public awareness of the risk of crowded places. A consumer need to temporarily cut costs and save for the unexpected. The result? A new homebuyer migration trend that CoreLogic® experts think is here to stay: Major metros are out, and affordable ones are in.

According to CoreLogic, 2020’s homebuyers left states with high taxes and expensive housing, particularly coastal locations such as New York and California, and relocated to metro areas in Texas, Florida, North and South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.

“The pandemic created a perfect recipe for consistently employed Americans,” said Archana Pradhan, CoreLogic’s principal economist. “If it had been any other mix of events, for example, if low housing inventory was coupled with job inflexibility, we wouldn’t have had such a large group of homebuying consumers feeling empowered to make bold moves in their living situations.”

As homebuying trends lurched into new territory, real estate agents were quick to keep up with both national market shifts and their local market conditions to provide clarity for their buyers and sellers. As the pace of home sales picked up, many joined the realty profession. The National Association of Realtors reports that their membership rose from 1.3 million in 2017 to 1.4 million in 2020.

The percentage of licensed real estate agents increased more quickly in some of the aforementioned hot housing markets, too. For example, Florida gained 13% more real estate agents between 2017 and 2020, while New York gained just 9% more agents in the same time period. In Texas, there were 18% more real estate agents in 2020 compared to 2017, while California gained just 4% more agents. Technology-infused realty experiences have made the profession more accessible while simultaneously increasing competition. Agents now have a host of digital tools, from virtual and enhanced graphics for listings to artificial intelligence-enabled client home search experiences, and it’s never been a more dynamic time to be in real estate.

As we enter the thick of the 2021 home-buying season, the health and behavior of the housing market continues to be a hot topic. In 2020’s Hottest Cities for Homebuyers Report, we’ll uncover:

  • Which region had the highest in-migration activity
  • What drove homeowners to move away from major coastal metros
  • The top 15 metropolitan areas with the highest in- and out-migration activity in 2020
  • What agents and homeowners can expect for 2021

Follow this link, to view the full report.