The pandemic effect of pushing home buyers further out from dense metro areas has continued well into 2021, according to new data from Zillow.
The listing service found that prior to the pandemic, 60-75 percent of the most-viewed ZIP codes across the nation’s largest markets were suburban. By July 2021, the share of most viewed ZIPs that were suburban had jumped to upwards of 90 percent.
Interest is one thing, but is there inventory to support? While inventory of suburban and city homes have both fallen over the course of the pandemic, suburban homes have seen the larger drop.
In March 2021, Zillow notes, for-sale inventory in the suburbs of top metropolitan areas was down almost 40 percent compared to the prior year, compared to a less than 15 percent decline for city/urban homes.
Metro areas are still a hot buy, though. According to Zillow, while the trend of growing suburban views is widespread across the majority of major metros, there are some exceptions. In 12 of the 50 largest metros including Buffalo, NY, Las Vegas and Riverside, CA, the trend has not substantially reversed or has stayed the same as before the pandemic—meaning city centers still have decent leverage in the market—if there’s inventory to meet demand.
For more on Zillow’s latest research, click here.