Homebuyers looking for spacious properties and affordable prices are flocking to midsize cities like Manchester, New Hampshire rather than Boston and other cramped metropolitan areas nearby.
Buyers who can work remotely are also more likely to venture further outside of cities, where Realtor.com says home prices are nearly 40% cheaper in some suburban areas and smaller towns.
Many of the buyers in Manchester are coming from Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Rhode Island, says local real estate broker Pamela Young, of Re/Max Insight. Some are moving to the Manchester suburbs and commuting into the city, Boston, or elsewhere to save money on housing.
“There are so many people coming in from all over the place. It’s amazing,” says Young. “I’ve been in real estate 36 years, and I’ve never seen anything quite like this.”
Homes in the Manchester metro were selling in fewer than 21 days—just three weeks!—in September. That’s nine days faster than the previous year and 23 days quicker than the rest of the nation. Listings on Realtor.com also got 2.6 times as many views per home than typical homes elsewhere.
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