Goodbye Austin, Texas. Hello … Hooksett, New Hampshire?
Sun Belt cities including the Texas capital have dominated various lists of the top housing markets in recent years. Now, with higher mortgage rates beginning to cool the boomtowns of the South and West, a new region is heating up.
Six of the top 10 places on Realtor.com’s list of the hottest zip codes in the US this year are in New England, including Windham, Maine, and North Attleboro, Massachusetts. Hooksett, New Hampshire — another town on the list — is located about 60 miles north of Boston, which makes it a practical choice for workers who have been freed from the daily commute by the rise of remote-working.
“People are buying homes in these areas that are bigger and more affordable than what you would find in a downtown area,” said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com. “Possibly it’s because they have more flexibility than they had pre-pandemic.”
Hale’s company compiled the list of hottest zip codes based on two key metrics, including the length of time it takes homes to sell and the number of viewers for a listing on Realtor.com. While home prices aren’t formally included, affordability is a key factor driving buyer interest in a given area. New England’s place at the top of the list is partly a reflection of higher prices in other parts of the country.
“We have seen the hottest zip codes migrate east as the success of housing markets in the Sun Belt and the West have made those regions less enticing for a lot of homebuyers,” Hale said.
--With assistance from Prashant Gopal.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.