Where did you picture yourself living as an adult? Perhaps in a penthouse high above a big city, with a twinkling skyline stretching to the horizon outside your floor-to-ceiling windows?
For more and more homebuyers, that vision has given way to the kind of home in the suburbs they once thought of as dull. This is driven in part by the high prices of premier coastal cities, the favorable financing options of smaller markets and the increased flexibility offered by remote work.
Long story short, it’s affordability, not location, that’s driving buyer decisions — and market realities — today.
‘Moving sideways’: How homebuyers are stretching their dollar in today’s market by Nick Pipitone
New population estimates show Americans are still moving away from large coastal cities in favor of mid-tier Sun Belt suburbs like Raleigh, North Carolina, and Dallas, where the suburbs are seeing more growth than their central cities. They’re seeking affordability, space and plenty of room for remote work, suggesting that these priorities — largely unchanged since the pandemic — are structural, not cyclical.
Buyers “have figured out that they can sell a two-bedroom condo in Northern Virginia or New Jersey for what they can purchase a four-bedroom home in one of the suburban communities surrounding Raleigh,” one broker-owner said, “and have a significant amount of money left over after purchase to deposit into a bank account.”
Practically speaking, what this means is that despite the increased power they hold once they get into the market, buyers may be required to think about what they really need and where they can compromise to make the numbers work. Agents who can help buyers bridge the expectation gap are earning their commissions right now.
Here are some recent stories from our Inman contributors, designed to help you make sense of the market and communicate through every transaction.
How 8 words created a binding contract
Two text messages. $2.8 million. A written-communication protocol is a professionalism signal that helps you stand out, attorney Kelly Lise Murray writes. Implement these five simple fixes to keep your emails and texts contractless.
What to say when clients ask about the data center down the street
As more data centers move into residential neighborhoods nationwide, more buyers are arriving with questions, new Inman contributor Elizabeth Quinn writes. Here’s how real estate professionals should answer.
Why the spring housing rebound never happened (and how to navigate what’s next)
In the face of the current market, Eric Bramlett writes, manage expectations clearly, stay close to your clients and build the kind of trust that has a long shelf life.
