Look Out, Small Town America—City Buyers Are Coming Your Way

Remote workers no longer tethered to in-person jobs fled urban markets at a speedy clip throughout the pandemic, and as rising home prices create affordability challenges for city homebuyers, that exodus is ongoing in 2022. Small towns and rural areas saw the largest increase in homebuyer migration throughout the past year, while urban areas saw declining household growth in 2022, the National Association of Realtors reports.

Suburban markets saw the most significant increase in home sales thanks to commuting city workers and work-from-home employees relocating to the outskirts of city centers, and as urban sprawl increased throughout 2022, the most populated counties included in the 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers posted the largest declines.

With changing priorities and preferences, increased home prices, and a rapid increase in remote work, Americans during the pandemic largely exited central urban areas for opportunities afforded by larger homes and more space. Based on data from the 2022 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, small towns received the largest increase in homebuyer movement in 2022 from the previous year, with a nine percentage-point increase in buyers. Rural areas follow this with a seven percentage-point increase.

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