With strong local economies, low unemployment rates, and favorable community amenities, the top housing markets of the 2022 spring buying season are predominantly located in smaller cities growing in popularity among migrating buyers, Realtor.com reports. Topping the list of the emerging U.S. housing markets is Rapid City, South Dakota, where buyers are enticed by a low 2.4% unemployment rate, a booming job market, and no state income tax.
Warmer metros like Santa Cruz, California and Northport, Florida claimed the second and third spots on the list despite their median home prices of $1,262,500 and $575,000, respectively, proving that spring buyers are willing to pay a premium for homes in their preferred metros.
Overall, spring’s list of emerging markets took some sharp detours from three months earlier. Nine markets from winter 2021’s top 20—all areas in the South and West—tumbled off the list this quarter. This could be due to seasonal fluctuations, with warmer weather beckoning homebuyers further North.
Changing seasons aside, homebuyers today are facing a rapidly changing real estate landscape plagued by a shortage of available homes, record-shattering home prices that climbed to a national median of $405,000 in March, and soaring mortgage rates that climbed to 5% for the first time since 2011.
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