More Settling in Spokane

Spokane, Wash. tops a new list of metropolitan areas with the greatest shares of residents who want to stay put, and non-resident home shoppers seeking to move into town.

Breaking out the data, roughly 36.4 percent of homebuyer hopefuls in Spokane come from either Seattle, which accounts for the greatest share of the outside buyer cohort, or out of state. Spokane's home prices are approximately half of the cost to buy a home in Seattle, and the inland metro offers plenty of activities and amenities for residents including cycling, hiking, lakes, and a vibrant arts community. Marianne Bornhoft, local real estate broker for Windermere Manito explains, “We’re the best-kept secret that’s all of a sudden been discovered,” telling Realtor.com,  “We have a ton of ski resorts really close by ... [and] we have a very warm and welcoming culture.”

“Affordable markets are now attractive to shoppers," says Javier Vivas, realtor.com's director of economic research. "They’re frustrated by the fact that they can’t get into a home in more expensive markets.” The economists looked at the number of listing views on Realtor.com in the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the third quarter of the year. Then they broke it down by where those views were coming from—inside or outside the metro area. Spokane topped the list with the most listing views from out-of-towners hoping to score a home in the city, and also the fewest listing views by locals looking for a home out of town.

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