America’s ‘hottest’ neighborhoods aren’t located in big cities

Model homes and for sale signs line the streets as construction continues at a housing plan in Zelienople, Pa., Wednesday, March 18, 2020. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

by: Nexstar Media Wire

Posted: Jan 5, 2021 / 03:45 PM AST

Updated: Jan 6, 2021 / 08:51 AM AST

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(NEXSTAR) – The hottest neighborhoods in the U.S. aren’t the coastal cities you might expect, according to real estate site Redfin. Indeed, the majority of neighborhoods that have seen double-digit growth in home sales and housing values over the last year are located outside bustling coastal hubs as remote workers continue to leave major cities for vacation towns and suburbs.

Redfin ranked U.S. zip codes by October year-over-year growth in listing views and their Redfin Compete Score — an analysis of the difficulty in purchasing a home based on market, sale-to-list price ratio and share of homes that sold above their asking prices.

The top-10 list for the “Hottest Neighborhoods of 2021” includes vacation hotspots like California’s Lake Tahoe, which snagged the top spot on the ranking, and the Lakes Region of New Hampshire, where home buyers have been snapping up listings with gusto.

“The Lake Tahoe housing market is hotter than ever,” said Redfin real estate agent Jaime Moore. “People are coming from San Francisco in droves, and they’re bringing their Bay Area salaries with them — everyone here drives a Tesla now.”

According to Moore, “city folks” figure they might as well be quarantining in the mountains, where three-bedroom homes typically sell for around $750,000 — that’s low by Bay Area standards.

While the Tahoe housing market typically slows down in the winter months, Moore said the region is “still seeing tons of buyers in December” and homes selling over-asking.

It’s not just vacation spots seeing increased buyers but quiet suburbs, too, like Stratford, NJ — a small town about thirty minutes southeast of Philadelphia.

“The neighborhood is full of affordable homes that are great for first-time buyers,” said Redfin agent Jackie Imperato. “Flippers have been buying up Stratford’s outdated houses and rehabilitating them, so young couples are getting 90-year-old homes that feel brand new for less than what they were paying for rent in the city.”

These are the hottest zip codes in 2020, according to Trulia: