Throw away all you know about the hustle and bustle, the nightlife fun, high end restaurants, live theater, and skylines of the city. For the first time in possibly all of history, the suburbs are the hottest area to be in right now, says Realtor.com. In August, Realtor.com found that home shoppers spent more time viewing suburban listings than ones in cities. Compared to August 2019, home shoppers viewed suburban homes 53.9% more. Views for listing in the city did not completely disappear though, as urban listings increased by 50.7% year over year.
In the 10 largest metropolitan areas, such as New York City and Los Angeles, that gap widened to 56.4% growth in views in the suburbs compared with 43.6% in the cities.
Hey, it's easier to stay 6 feet apart in a single-family home with your own backyard than in an apartment or condo in 40-story towers where residents share elevators, laundry rooms, and a roof deck—that is, if they're lucky enough to have those amenities.
However, even if city denizens want to move to the burbs, they may have a hard time finding a house. The pandemic has greatly exacerbated existing shortages of properties on the market at the same time it created a surge in demand.
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